Vermillion
by kitsune13
Summary: before the 3rd Shinobi War, before he was Konoha's 4th Hokage, Yondaime Namikaze Minato first had to face his nightmare. It started with a fox.
1. Chapter 1

**Vermillion**

by TamLin

He hadn't known what he'd been expecting when he reentered the ruined cottage. It was a guess, a hunch. A gamble. And educated one, because he never jumped to conclusions unless he could be fairly sure of them, but it had been a guess all the same and when he pushed passed the thin door with only one of it's leather hinges unrotted, and moved into the dim interior of the single room, he wasn't expecting to see what he did.

He hadn't been expecting to see a girl with her wrists firmly caught in the noose he'd set from the ceiling.

She'd been making little annoyed noises, huffs through her nose, when he stepped in but the second he let the moonlight in with him, she twisted, bare toes barely on the dirt floor as she swung to face his menace. For a second, only a second, he almost started forward with an apology. His trap hadn't been meant to catch young girls. But in the split second when she spun and her eyes found his – they weren't scared. Her eyes were murder furious and gold fire. It stopped him before he could even start forward and his own eyes narrowed in response.

"Please… don't hurt me…"

Her voice was small and young and it trembled in the twilight air. If he hadn't seen her eyes for that brief moment before she hid them behind the sleeve of her kimono… he would have believed it. As it was, he still felt a bolt of guilt slide into his stomach. He shook his head and moved in a cautious circle around her and she slowly pivoted on her toes, body suspended, to never leave her back to him.

"I just want something," in the dark, his voice was low and emotionless. She whimpered in response and he couldn't stop the way the edges of his eyes flinched at the sound. Because – he would hurt her, and worse, if that was what it took.

"Please… " her little girl's voice in the dark. "Please… it hurts me…"

Her slim wrists shifted, pale moths in the gloom, and the red cord that bound them suspended from the ceiling looked like fresh blood. He moved closer, nerves straining in the night, body corded for an attack against him. The seals should hold. They should be alone in the building.

He didn't trust that enough to let his guard down.

"Give me what I want, and I'll let you go."

"…no…" her refusal was small. It was a child's refusal and despite himself, he stepped forward and his mouth curved sadly at its edge.

"You don't even know what I want…"

"You're a bad man," it whimpered out of her and made him sick to his stomach with its helpless innocence. "You've hurt me. You'll want bad things."

"I'll want bad things," he agreed, careful to keep the pain out of his voice as he nodded. "And you'll give them to me."

"…no…" it sounded more like a plea than a protest this time and she drew into herself, becoming smaller somehow in the oversized kimono.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, even though they were only words and whether he meant it or not, the words didn't absolve him from what he was going to do. He stepped forward to reach for the cord.

She unfolded with the speed of a sprung trap and even as she closed over him and wound him in coils of flesh and silk, he cursed himself. He'd known what she was, if not specifically at least in general. He should have paid more attention to her glimpse of molten gold eyes and less to her child's voice. He wasn't lost yet though.

There was a flurry of hands, arms, legs, cloth and hair. He almost lost his footing in the maelstrom. Something was snarling and he didn't think, much, that it came from him. He got a hand, imbued with chakra strength, around her thin throat but he also felt an unpleasant tightness and damp against his own. Together, they paused, swaying lightly because she'd wound her legs around him, anchoring him to her, and yet it left them both caught by the bounds that kept her suspended from the roof.

This close she didn't seem like such a little girl.

"You'll give me what I want," his voice came out a bit rougher but it was because of the pressure on his throat. It was still emotionless. He heard a snort near his ear.

"I'll rip your throat out," the little girl's voice was long gone and in its place was something furred and guttural. He felt the threatening grind of fangs against his neck and knew she had her jaws locked over him there.

In the time it would take him to crack her neck, she would do permanent damage to his.

Dead, neither of them could do what he needed done. Though… if he was dead, would he need it done anymore anyway…?

"Kill me and you'll still be trapped," he told her flatly and then narrowed his eyes against the brush of her tongue behind her teeth against his skin. It was hot and surprisingly dry. He tightened his fingers in answer.

To his surprise, she went still. He didn't get the impression it was in answer to his threat. Instead it was a thoughtful pause. He waited. After a long moment, she asked, carefully enunciating around his throat:

"What do you want?"

Despite himself, his shoulders slumped, just a little, even if he didn't loosen his grip on her neck.

"I want my son to live."

It was quiet for a long moment more. Finally, surprising him, he felt the jaws leave his throat. Her head stayed close to him there though and he couldn't see well enough from the edge of his eye to tell more. Her voice was surprisingly human and normal as it stated:

"You don't have a son."

He did turn his head then, though it was carefully and he kept his grip around her throat firm. The face that looked back at him was entirely human and not as beautiful as he'd expected it to be. Instead it looked… unnervingly normal as she rested her head on his shoulder and looked at him through calm, golden eyes. His returned look wasn't entirely friendly.

"How would you know?"

She blinked at him and didn't lift her head. Around his waist, her legs shifted disturbingly. He realized, belatedly, that it was to take some of the weight off of her wrists – which were still trapped above her and now behind his head. Without thinking about it, he slid his free hand under her to give support, spreading his fingers. She shifted in the long cradle of his hand to get more comfortable and he knew she wasn't human for the unselfconscious way she did it.

"Because you're Namikaze Minato. And Namikaze Minato has no children."

He gifted her a look for the answer that answered nothing and the edges of her lips curved upward. He finally gave up pretending and his fingers slipped from her throat. The pale skin kept the red marks of his grip.

With his free hand, he pulled up the silk of her kimono on one side of her and she watched him expose her thigh where it was tight around his waist with mild curiosity. He found what he was looking for and his fingertips tapped against the pale scars that circled her skin there, touching indented dimples on otherwise smooth flesh.

"You're the little fox I freed from the hunter's trap last year."

She made a softly huffing noise that blew warm breaths against his throat and he realized she was laughing in a strange, non-human way. He'd thought he'd seen that little fox from time to time since then, flickers on the edges of his vision but he hadn't paid much attention. Konoha was surrounded by forest and he saw more raccoons and squirrels than foxes.

"You owe me."

She made the huffing noises again and they were quicker this time. The gold in her eyes sparkled and her lips were most definitely upturned. His face didn't answer the sentiment.

"You let me be a brute."

Her laughter died out but her lips stayed curved. Her eyes softened though and he realized he'd let the tick of shame into his voice when he'd accused her.

"You came in downwind. I couldn't smell you until you were closer." A small shoulder shrugged. "Humans all look alike to me. Don't be angry. Whatever you want must be very ugly if you were willing to be ugly to get at it."

It brought the reality of what he was doing here back to him and he felt his heart slow in his chest again. His arm shifted around her without thought, the reaction of a little child holding a stuffed animal closer for comfort. But she wasn't a stuffed animal and he hadn't found comfort in them since his father had taken his away from him and tossed it in the fire when he'd been a child and 'too old for nonsense like that'.

He didn't remember if he'd cried or not. He remembered his mother had.

He'd always sworn he'd be better than that – when he had his own son. Now… now he realized he was going to be worse.

So much worse.

"I'm – " he paused and then continued anyway. "I'm going to do something terrible to my son when he is born. Something… unforgivable. Something so horrifying that I wake up before I can do it." His voice had gone tight with the wash of memories and clammy, sickening emotions that always came with the dreams. He took a deep breath and forced his voice back to steadiness. "Whatever it is, it's bad enough to kill him. I need – " he paused again and his voice softened. "I need to make sure he survives."

She was still and silent in his arms, her exhales dusting light against his throat. For the first time since he'd let himself face what his dreams meant, he didn't feel like vomiting. Her arms around him shifted.

"You want fox magic to save him."

He nodded once.

"I would take any beings magic I could find if it will save him but fox magic works just as well as any of the others. It's not good or evil to taint him. And you're forest _kami_ so you deal with the basic components of things." The more he thought about it, the more he was sure. "You can change things without destroying their nature. You could make his body strong enough without changing what he really is."

Against his shoulder, she'd started to shake her head. He narrowed his eyes in response and nodded at her.

"It costs too much."

"From me, or him?"

"From you," her voice sounded strangely sad when she said it and he shook his head again.

"I'll pay it."

"You don't even know what it is!"

He looked down at her.

"I'll pay it."

For a moment there was the crackle of sparks around the gold of her eyes and she narrowed them at him in the gloom.

"No."

"Yes."

"No. And you won't hurt me. You can't force me."

"I'm offering you me. All of me, any of me, every part of me. All you have to do is bind your fox magic into my son before he's born and give him the chance to survive whatever I do to him. I know your kind makes pacts with men. I'm not even asking for safety clauses or stipulations or requirements before you collect your payment. You take whatever you want from me. You save my son. The bargain's weighted in your favor and you know it."

Her jaw had tightened so that the thin line of it stood out against her pale skin and her eyes had narrowed down into yellow slits. She didn't lift her head from his shoulder and it seemed almost proprietary.

"No."

"Damn it!" It wasn't often he swore, not even in quiet tones, but her stubbornness pulled it out of him. Still supporting her with one arm, he reached up with his other and started to free the sacred knots that had bound the simple scarlet cord to the central beam of the ceiling. As he did so he grit out between his teeth.

"I'll find someone else. There are other creatures that will jump at the chance to own an ANBU."

Whatever she'd done before he'd arrived, the knots were partially seared and blackened. No normal cord could have held up to whatever she'd put through it trying to break free but that was the point. As fragile as it looked, the red cord was sacred and he'd gone through a great deal of trouble to get it, not to mention caused several possible political problems if anyone ever figured out which village had it. He hoped it was strong enough to last through another setting. If not –

If not, he'd just have to go get another one.

Damn it.

"Is Nara pregnant?"

"What?" the question was so unrelated he didn't give it much attention as he picked the knots he'd so carefully woven free.

"Is Nara Mikoto pregnant? Is that why you're in such a hurry to sell your soul for a son you don't have yet."

"What?" this time he did pause and look down at her. What he thought she was guessing was so far outside of what was going on in his life, he needed clarification before he committed. She huffed out a breath at him, tiny white teeth clipping together lightly.

"Is it the one of the Hyuga twins then? Who have you bred with that you're going to have a son to do horrible things to?"

"Not – no one," he answered without thinking, which was unusual for him. "I'm not – the Hyuga twins?"

She made a dismissive noise.

"I told you, humans look alike to me. The two girls with the false eyes." She blinked at him, turning her head sideways a little as if looking at him from a different angle would change what she saw. After a long pause in which he didn't move and she looked at him thoughtfully, her brows twitched together a little and she frowned.

"They always smell ready around you. Quite a few of the women start to smell ready when you are around them." She shook her head but it was as if she was shaking her fur to resettle it and it unsteadied him on his feet. "If you are so worried about a son, you must have taken one of them to your den and she must be carrying your kit now. That's why you're in such a hurry about buying magic."

He was used to being in control of a conversation. So it was irking to find himself stumbling verbally.

"I don't – no one. No one's pregnant. By me." He hastily added, sensing that she took things literally when it suited her. "I don't have any kits in my den or foxes or – " he shook his head, "Whatever metaphors we're using." He was going to have a hard time looking the Hyuga twins in the eye the next time he saw them and he'd always made it a point to before because he knew how many people avoided their eerie pupil-less eyes. 'Smelled ready'? "I just know I am going to have a son one day. And when he is born, I'm going to do something devastating to him. I can't wait until he's being born to try to stop that from killing him."

"ah," she made a thoughtful sound and settled against him. Apparently done with her speculation on who – or how many – lovers he had. He forced his mind away from both the thought she'd obviously been around enough to pay attention and to what she'd been paying attention to and went back to work on the knots. They finally came apart near the beam and her arms, still tied at the wrist, fell around his shoulders.

She made no move to untangle her legs from around his waist so he found himself continuing to hold her.

"You're sure?" she finally asked and he swallowed before he nodded. He was sure. He didn't know a single ANBU who didn't have nightmares after the things they were required to do to preserve their village. These weren't regular nightmares though. Gamabunta had confirmed that, thanks to the Great Toad Sage.

He hadn't wanted to ask any human help with it until he knew what the dreams were. After…

After he knew what they were, he certainly wasn't going to share it with anyone human.

Her arms settled more companionably over his shoulders and for a moment they might have almost have been friends. Almost…

"What I mean is – are you sure no woman is pregnant with your child?"

He gave her a narrow look. Not about to go into his sexual life, or long running utter lack of one, with a fox.

"Doing what you're doing now may be what leads to what you dream of in the future," she speculated and it was nothing he hadn't thought to himself a hundred times already.

"I know," he met her gold eyes. "But I would rather be damned for doing something, than for sitting around and doing nothing."

"Your potential kit… his mother may not approve of you making pacts over the child."

His shoulder moved.

"It's my sin. Not hers. Not our child's. If I need to keep it from her – it won't be the only thing."

She exhaled thoughtfully and dipped her head to rub her cheek against her shoulder.

"Do you know the mother?"

Somehow that seemed so much less important and he shook his head. If he could destroy the son he loved already, what chance did a woman have against whatever he would become? She peered at him in the shadows.

"Do you know who you _want_ the mother to be?" she pestered. He gave her a narrow look and let go of her for just an instant. Her arms clenched around him and she made a muted sound as her legs tightened. He wrapped his arms back around her, assuming that his warning would put an end to her pointless teasing, and grunted:

"I don't care."

"Liar…" her voice was sing-song and a twilight breeze but her slanted gold-fire eyes watched him as she let him get away with it.

"I will help you." Almost immediately after the statement, she ducked her head and rubbed her nose against her shoulder. He suspected trickery. Foxes weren't generally evil. They just liked their games at other's expense.

"Liar," he echoed back without guilt – and found the tip of his nose suddenly nipped. The move startled him back a step and she grinned at him, white teeth in the moonlight shadows.

"I will," she repeated. "Because I like you. And because if I don't you're going to get yourself damned."

"I'm already damned."

"That isn't my fault," she shrugged off damnation with a single shoulder. "But what you want is not my secret to give. You want to change a child still in the womb. That is ancient knowledge. It happens to a kit in a kitsune's womb because they shift as their mother does but they are flesh of her flesh and blood of her blood. Her power is theirs and theirs hers. You wish to give that power to a human woman and her powerless child." She shook her head. "I don't know how that would be done."

Her eyes met his and he held them, patient and waiting. Her pointed chin tipped, just a little, to the side and he suddenly wondered when she had lifted her head from his shoulder so that they were now face to face.

"Grandfather knows though. Or he has the secret of it buried in his library of scrolls. Kitsune were once just foxes. Our creation should hold the secret to our changing magic."

"You're sure?"

"No," she shook her head. "But it will cost you nothing but celibacy while you find out. If we're right or wrong, you can go impregnate a woman afterward."

His lips thinned and he shot her a narrow look. She wasn't asking anything he wasn't doing already.

He'd never been fond of touch. Since becoming ANBU he now had an almost instinctive aversion to it. That and…

and he was an idiot. Leave it at that. A willing body wasn't all that he craved these days.

She smiled at him and he wondered what she'd seen in his eyes.

"You need to stand on your own feet," he told her. Her lips just curved more and edged the corners of her eyes. Then she sobered and gold searched his face carefully.

"Grandfather would require your payment if he knew. You would make a very pretty piece to add to his _go_ board. He can't know you have not already given yourself to me. Only men already mostly in the dream world of loving a secret fox are allowed in our den. They don't see the secrets we don't wish them to."

He met her eyes and blinked slowly. Without inflection, he stated:

"So I'm kitsune seduced?"

Her hips shifted against his and his fingers tightened on her in response. He'd been very deliberately ignoring where she was pressed against him up until that moment and the look he gave her for reminding him now wasn't friendly.

"You're not doing it very well," she complained and very dryly he answered:

"I'm not in front of your grandfather at the moment."

The huffing sounds spattered out of her like raindrops then and she shifted her hips again until he was very aware of her. Somehow it was the little huffing laughter that awakened him as much as her warmth.

"Dropping you now," he warned flatly, even if he didn't and the huffing became something burbling and delicately rumbling. Her arms around him tightened and mercifully, her hips stopped even if it left her very – too - comfortably pressed against him.

"I take it back. You're not a bad man."

"Yes. I am."

~*~*~

_so I'm back with another multi-chaptered story, though this one won't - hopefully - be as long as my last one. For everyone who reads me regularly, thanks for coming to check this out and to all the new readers - welcome. I will, ffnet willing, post a chapter each and every Sunday night/Monday morning just as I did for _Tales Within Tales_. I try to make it a point to be consistent because as a fellow reader I know how much easier that makes it to just sit back and enjoy. I will, to the best of my ability, be keeping this canon (or as canon as we are aware of at the time it gets published) though hopefully this won't be a repeat of anything you've read regarding Minato Namikaze before. I'll use the Japanese traditions when they fit - last name first, suffixes on the ends of titles/names, and skip them when it seems to slow down the reading. Double thanks to Jini who is being my beta for this endevor. And now - sit back and enjoy the ride. You'll have to tell me as we go how Minato's doing at being a 'bad man'.  
_


	2. Chapter 2

_I want to thank everyone that read this, my gentle readers, but a special thanks to my Kipling-esqe 'oh, best beloveds'. **jini** - it has been a long time in the planning, hasn't it? but here we are now and even though you're already read ahead (my wonderful beta) I'm so glad you left me another review anyway. Review counts are good for my soul and make my eyes all big and shiny. I try to leave a bit of good mystery in my writing - things to discover later - and I really try to be unique in my approach. I'm glad Minato is coming across as himself but from a new angle. He's one of my precious people ;) so are you. ** mc** - I am in absolute love with the way you described Minato (his lover is going to call him something different, but yes, Minato would be appropriate too). He's a very special character for me and I'm so, so relieved and thrilled that he comes off well even when he's being bad. Your review literally made my day, I was so happy to see it in my email box. Never, ever think your willingness to follow a writer into new territory and explore it happily is a small or light thing. It isn't. It is a great and powerful gift and I am humbled and delighted each and every time you give it to me. **ruby **- I have no email address for you or sign in of your screen name so I can't thank you properly. You are wonderful and evil and I LIKE that! thanks. **falynn** - you have no idea how you made me laugh (and blush!) I'm _kinky_! who knew - lol. I seriously had to brag about your review to some of my writing friends. It was AWESOME!! And yeah, the fox is too much fun to write for - glad to hear she's fun to read too. It will come and go in waves but I should hope I can keep the dark heat of the first chapter flowing through this story. and - ps - just got my Naruto doujinshi copy of Birthday: volume 3 by Nilo/Signal. I don't read Japanese. I still cried.  
_

Chapter 2:

He went where his dream told him.

It was a little less than a week since he'd caught the kitsune fox in the abandoned house lost deep in the woods around Konoha. Less than a week since he'd unwound the red cord from around her bruised wrists and she'd disappeared into the night in a swirl of leaves and shifting moonlight and chuffing laughter. Half a dozen times since then he'd told himself he was an idiot and had debated going through the elaborate ritual that set the sacred cord to catch the magic creatures that lurked in the shadows and floating dust motes of their world. Each time he'd decided against it.

Possibly because he hadn't dreamed of destroying his newborn son since he'd caught kitsune magic in his hands.

It certainly wasn't trust. He knew what he'd fallen in with. Kitsune loved their tricks and their mischief. Though she'd never said it, she might already, on some unfathomable level, have a claim on his soul. It wasn't as if he hadn't been willing to trade that piece, or any piece of himself, off anyway.

All it took to steel that resolve was the memory of the feel of minuscule fingers closing around one of his, so helpless and so needy – and the gut wrenching feeling of sick guilt and horror as he responded to that need with something so unnatural and wrong that it shot him out of his dreams feeling ill and shaking and slick with sweat.

He'd sell off any soul he could get his hands on – and more – to find a way to save his son from that.

Whatever _that _was.

Last night though, he'd dreamed of red hair and pale skin – and not much else. He wasn't a fool. He knew she was teasing him. He also knew the pool of water she'd been emerging from and he recognized a summon when he got one. He could play the part of a besotted idiot. He'd watched enough other men turn into half-wits over a girl's pretty smile that he thought it wouldn't be hard to fake. If he had to be kitsune-seduced to trick his way into her grandfather's library, then he'd be kitsune-seduced. Stumbling across a girl bathing seemed vaguely cliché to him though, the kind of thing his sensei would have in his stories if he wrote those kinds of books.

He vaguely wondered what other clichéd ideas he'd have to follow through on and then realized he hoped they were all flat clichés. He didn't feel like wasting the time trying to come up with original ideas for a fake wooing.

"Minato!"

The call turned his head and he was surprised to see the very writer he'd been thinking of.

"Sensei," he greeted the older man with a vague sense of puzzlement before one edge of his mouth curved upward. "Is there a lingerie peddler outside the city I haven't heard of?"

"What?" Jiraiya protested. "Is that all you think I think about?"

"No," he answered calmly as his teacher fell into step next to him. "I think you also think about the women in those outfits."

Jiraiya grinned and shook his head.

"It's research, Minato. I'm going to be a famous writer one day and my readers will demand attention to detail."

Minato snorted in response but it didn't wipe the smile from his lips. Jiraiya treated him… treated him as if he was normal. Just a man, just like anyone else. Not some… prodigy. Sometimes… he could almost think of the older man as the father he wished he'd had instead of the one he had.

"Besides, I dreamed about women frolicking in a nearby pool and I thought I'd go there to relax and find inspiration. Just in case."

Sometimes – not.

"Which pool?" he asked with a strange sense of foreboding. Foxes and their strange senses of humor… Jiraiya waved a hand vaguely.

"Where the river takes a turn to the east. There's a small pool near willow trees there. It's very poetic. Artistic. Lush."

Minato's eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance. Apparently he wasn't the only one dreaming about her. Though why she'd send Jiraiya a dream as well puzzled him. Fox dreams. Why was he expecting something like that to make sense?

Slowly, he became aware of his sensei's eyes on him and he turned his head to look at the other man. He was bothered to find his usually jovial teacher frowning.

"Sensei?"

"When was your last mission?" Jiraiya asked and Minato thought about it.

"Eight days ago."

"Have you signed up for another yet?"

Minato nodded.

"Right after I got back. My name should almost be up on the roster by now."

To his surprise, Jiraiya's frown deepened.

"When did you last take some time to – I don't know, relax? Read something that wasn't a training scroll? Pick up a pretty girl?"

Five days ago. He almost answered it. Being literal – he had picked up a girl and she'd been pretty enough. Or at least he'd held her. He didn't know if it counted as 'picking up' if she'd jumped you in the first place. After you'd trapped her with a sacred cord you weren't supposed to be carrying in your pocket at that very moment. Because you were trying to stop a nightmare… He just shook his head at his teacher instead.

"You need to relax a little, kid," Jiraiya's voice was the deeper tone it took when he was being serious. He placed a hand on Minato's shoulder and was one of the few that could without bringing out a flinch. "You're going to kill yourself before your enemies have the chance."

Minato smiled ruefully. Before he had the chance to have the son he damned? But no… the son was more important than the damning. The son… the son was a key, a nexus point, a moment of revolving hope. He knew that too from the dreams because he always felt it right next to the horror and shame of his actions. He didn't believe in destiny the way the Hyuga clan did – but he did believe that some lives were destined to be something great.

His son would be one of those lives.

If he could survive that long.

Fox magic was his first option. He was going to have to find others in case it failed him. Not because of his unborn son's destiny… but because the boy was his son.

He would do anything for those little fingers he felt wrap around his in his dreams...

ANBU senses had his head jerking up suddenly and his eyes narrowed as they searched the area. His year in ANBU had made him paranoid – he didn't think that was a bad thing. Next to him his teacher shifted, his back suddenly to his.

"Blood," Jiraiya stated and there was nothing left in his voice but the steel of a warrior. Minato nodded in response, smelling it now that it had been mentioned, the tang of it a tickle in his nostrils. He scanned tree branches, shrubbery, the edges of animal runs, the bank of the river that flowed –

Red hair. Pale skin. Torn cloth. Pink blood dispelling in the water where the body lay caught in bracken against the curve of the bank.

He was moving before he thought about it. Recognizing his fox. His little fox and the awkward angles of her human form half in the water.

His hope of his son's salvation bleeding out in the cold water of the flowing river.

He had his arms around her and was pulling her from the water before Jiraiya caught up to him. Close to her he could see that it wasn't a broken body but rather a shredded one she wore. In her throat, her pulse beat erratic and faint and her skin, wet from the river, was ice cold and molted with bruises and long bleeding welts.

What had happened? They were far from the point he'd expected to find her and she wasn't at all in the condition he'd expected. Had her grandfather discovered her decision to help him and decided to stop her? He didn't know how kitsune families operated but he did understand dominant males that used their fists to enforce their vague, fickle laws. Or had she gotten into a fight with another magic creature that had nothing at all to do with their bargain; nothing more than a random attack that threatened to rip away his hope for his son before it had even begun? Jiraiya crouched next to him and ran hands over her limbs. Minato stood with her in his arms.

"We have to get her to the hospital."

Whatever the cause, she was dying. He could _feel_ the flicker of her life dimming against him even if he didn't know how he could.

"You're faster," Jiraiya took her from him and helped him lay her against his back, arms over his shoulders, her legs tucked limp against his hips. It was a chilling parody of the last time he'd had her body against his. With a nod, Minato was gone.

He was, so it was claimed, the fastest nin in the world. And it still felt like far too long before he was in the hospital and the medics were taking her from him. He forced himself to stay put and not follow as they swept her up and away from him. What had happened?

What was powerful enough, and clever enough, to corner a kitsune and thrash it to the point of death?

Where was he going to find another so willing to help if he lost this one?

He felt restless in the waiting room and roamed the nearby halls until he was finally driven back into the waiting room by an annoyed nurse. Jiraiya was there, leaning against the wall and Minato moved over to join him. For a long time, both men were silent.

"Stay still, boy," Jiraiya finally intoned. "You're like a panther in a cage. The medics know what they're doing."

Minato exhaled and looked to the side, letting his eyes drift until they focused on a random object. It was one of his methods to relax himself and he let his vision go lax, mind turning inward. When Jiraiya spoke again it was at a comfortable distance, through the safe haze of blurred focus.

"Who do you suppose she is?"

It was a safe question, one that actually had an answer, and he brought his eyes back into focus on the flowerpot sitting on the side table. The sound he made was non-committal. Which was the right answer.

"Well, she's not from around here. She's dressed like a kunoichi though. That was a shinobi flak vest. There's something... familiar..." Jiraiya shook his head. "I didn't see a forehead protector but if it was on her clothing I could have missed it considering how shredded they were."

Minato didn't answer. Because he'd just realized, and was annoyed by the fact, that it hadn't occurred to him that she would need to 'be' anyone. Of course she'd need a human identity; she couldn't very well expect to be accepted into a Hidden Village as a stranger. It was a stupid mistake on his part though to overlook that fact. He supposed, in a foolish way, he had expected her to stay in her forest world; not enter his.

"Pretty girl," Jiraiya added in a soft undertone that didn't hold the usual lechery he liked to emphasize. "Too young to be torn apart like that."

Minato's eyes slid over to him but the entrance door opened and the Hokage stepped in before he had to find a response. A response that might, suddenly feeling old and disillusioned himself - might have been a bit too bitter to say out loud.

"Sensei," Jiraiya stood with a smile and Minato lowered his head in difference to the two mens' seniority and to give them the semblance of privacy. The leader of their village turned his attention on him however and nodded a greeting.

"Namikaze," the older man intoned and Minato bowed his head again.

"Sandaime Hokage-sama."

"I hear you've brought in a wounded girl. Is there any news on her yet?"

"No, Hokage-sama." Minato couldn't help the glare at the doors that led deeper into the hospital and that he'd been escorted out of earlier. "They would only tell me that she was still alive and that I was being distracting."

The second part of the answer made the older man chuckle softly and he nodded. Then he turned to Jiraiya.

"Any idea of where she came from or what happened?"

"No." Jiraiya took a seat after the Hokage did. Minato remained standing and it had less to do with manners and more to do with restlessness.

His son's future trembled at a crossroad and the child wasn't even conceived yet.

The Hokage nodded.

"I've heard disturbing rumors lately. Rumors only with nothing substantial enough to give me a place to look or actions to prepare. A stranger showing up marked from battle might be nothing more than a mission gone awry. Still – I think I will wait with you two a little while and see if there's any news."

Minato had expected to be ignored. Jiraiya had been the Hokage's pupil and they were long time friends. He was surprised when the older man turned to him and stated:

"Jiraiya tells me you're working on a new jutsu technique."

Minato kept his face expressionless despite the fact it was a surprise to hear that his teacher talked about something as uninteresting as his theories to the Hokage of all people. Instead he simply nodded and, despite himself, went down to rest on his heels in front of the older man.

"It's only a theory," he warned, "but it occurs to me that certain techniques allow their wielders to shape the different elements, shifting them out of their natural state and into a controlled state. All this time, we've been manipulating fire or wind or earth to do things that, left in its natural state, they wouldn't do. All those are outside forces though. I've started to speculate that, given the fact that, to perform many of our techniques we already manipulate the flow of our body's natural chakra, it might be possible to actually shape it. Why, if I can shape an outside force, would I not be able to shape an energy that is already a part of me?" His brows came down in frustration. "I know it's possible. It makes sense. I just haven't figured out how yet."

He realized that the Hokage was looking at him with an odd light in his eyes and felt the sudden shame of realizing he'd let his emotions slip and revealed his excitement about the idea. He'd actually showed that the theory was more than a passing speculation, that it was important to him, and he turned his head to the side with a scowl at the revealed weakness. People weren't interested in emotional reactions to things; they only responded to solid facts. He'd opened himself up to mockery and his theory, as secretly intriguing as it was to him, to dismissal.

"It's only a theory," he clarified, voice inflectionless again. He returned calm eyes to the older man.

"A worthy theory," the Hokage leaned down to rest a hand on his shoulder and Minato turned slightly to look at the older man, hiding the flinch the touch had brought on. To his surprise, the Hokage nodded approval and beyond him, Jiraiya was grinning. "Continue with your new jutsu. I want to see what comes of it."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," he answered and was surprised to feel a flush of pride at the older man's interest. He had thought he was past caring what others thought of his methods, or even himself for that matter. Being pleased with a response meant that, should the response from the same man next time be disappointed, he would feel that too.

He was too old and had worked too hard to become who he was now to let others opinions affect him.

The door to the interior of the hospital opened and one of the doctors came out. He was already headed for them but upon seeing the village head present, his steps hastened. Minato stood up.

"The girl will survive." The man had enough sense to start with the important facts. "Tsunade-hime oversaw her healing. She says that the patient has a strong will to live."

Minato felt himself relax, just a little. He had been… worried… about the little fox.

"We also found this around her thigh," the doctor offered a thick ribbon of material and the metal strip on it, though tarnished, still caught the light. As curious as he was, Minato didn't try to take it and the Hokage did instead. "Her wounds were mostly external though she does have internal bruising. Most of her damage was caused by a bladed weapon but she also has several that probably came from a rough trip down the river."

The Hokage turned over the forehead protector and looked at the symbol branded into the metal.

"The Land of the Whirlpool," the older man commented quietly and even Minato turned his head to pay attention. Jiraiya was frowning.

"Our allies," he pointed out and the Hokage nodded, brows creasing.

"Allies I haven't heard from in a while…"

"The river we found her in does flow past the Hidden Village there before it comes to us," Jiraiya offered and the Hokage nodded again in silence before raising his head to look at the doctor.

"Is she conscious?"

The other man shook his head.

"No, Hokage-sama," he sounded apologetic, as if it was his fault he couldn't provide the Hokage with what he asked for. Tsunade-hime seems to feel the patient will sleep for a long time before she is ready to wake."

The Hokage stood up.

"I need to return to the office. Namikaze, stay with the girl until she wakes. You will be her guardian while she is with us."

It wasn't the way he would have chosen it but the position served Minato well enough and he bowed his head in acknowledgment of the post.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Good," the older man turned to Jiraiya. "Find Orochimaru and both of you come to my office when you do." He nodded to the doctor. "Thank you."

Minato watched the two leave. If he were a man obsessed with power, he would feel envy over the Third Hokage and his student. Instead, he simply felt grateful to serve a village that contained shinobi like them. He turned his attention on the doctor. His voice was flat and absolutely unarguable.

"Take me to her."


	3. Chapter 3

_here we are again, gentle readers. And just as a note, I now have a LiveJournal account as well where I'll be preposting my stories from now on. You can find the link to it on my homepage here at ffnet. Just in case anything ever goes wonky with ffnet... and now for my best beloveds. **mc** - yeah, sorry about that. Chapter 2 was probably my most technical chapter, things should mellow out a bit now. and heh - I admit, I dig through wiki myself when I'm writing (even my ffvii stories). It's next to impossible to keep track of everything (much less spell it right - lol). And you're right, though I hadn't thought of it. We are a long way from 'this world looks a lot like the one they beamed down to last week', aren't we? We'll be intrepid explorers together. **ks **- thank you for the vote of confidence. Originally I had a much lighter story in mind, going the traditional route of 'Minato and Kushina growing up together as kids' and all the wacky hijinks that ensue. It just wouldn't write for me though. This Minato wanted out and I couldn't resist him. Maybe I'll get back to the kids one day but for now, I'll do my best to keep the flavor of the opening chapter flowing throughout. Tell me how I do. **Awkwardly Awesome** - huzzah! another fan of both ffvii AND naruto. Come dance around in circles with me - or we can just share sparkly apple cider - lol. As much as I enjoy the naruto universe, Minato wins hands down for me as favorite character too. I'm not sure where the idea for involving a fox came in but once I let her in, it was all over. She's a pushy little thing. Minato is no help ;) Glad you're enjoying. I think you'll like this chapter. And lastly, but never leastly, my beta **Jini.** Pimp my story! heh - wait, I see you already are. Thank you for pimping my story! I can't even tell if it's showing up on the regular naruto page or not actually but it must be as I'm getting readers. Still, you can never have too many people to a party like this and the more reviews a story has the more confident people seem to be about starting it (not to mention it makes for a very happy writer ;). and - huzzah in Jiraiya, proud beam of a grin on Minato and yeah - Minato didn't expect the kitsune to show up that way either. I think he runs through several emotions over it in this chapter (as you know). Quietly, repressed(ly?) but yes, he has his own opinion on her choice of arrival. And now - on with the show! _

Chapter 3:

The scroll was open and unrolled across his lap, the end of it trailing unforgivably on the floor. In a minute, he'd lean down and pick it up. In a minute, he'd sit up straight and pop the bones in his back that felt locked and tired. In a minute –

In a minute.

In a minute, he'd stop watching her breathe. He'd unfold his hands and lift his mouth from where it rested pressed against their edge and raise his head. In a minute, he'd lift his elbows from his knees and remember to blink.

In a minute.

His little fox, suddenly Whirlpool bred, looked… much smaller than he remembered her being. He remembered she'd pretended to be a child when he'd first seen her – and she'd been small enough for it. When she'd attacked him however her body hadn't been a child's. It had been… average. She had been average sized, he decided. Now… now she looked… very small.

Slowly, it leaked into his awareness that he was staring and that his vision had blurred. Blinking, he brought it back into focus and found eyes of gold watching him from the bed. For a very long time they simply looked at each other. Finally, without lifting his head, he asked quietly:

"What happened?"

Gold blinked at him.

"I came." Her voice was burred at its edges and a little hard to understand, as if she was having difficulty wrapping her tongue around the words. He unfolded slowly out of the chair and walked over to the table next to her where the pitcher of water had been left. She had shut her eyes when he turned back around but she opened them when he moved toward her bed with the glass of water. Her lips curved at their edges for him and he realized that, somehow, she didn't seem so miniscule anymore. She didn't move to lift her cheek from where it was pressed into the pillow the way most people would when approached.

"And?" he prompted and she blinked at him again, calm incomprehension in her eyes.

"And you found me?" The way she said it indicated that she was, mostly, sure he had been the one to do so. He sat down on the edge of her bed, glass resting on his thigh and she didn't move to either take it or give him room on the mattress.

"I found you."

Her lips curved again and she shut her eyes, content from all appearances. He noticed her hands were both near her head and her fingers were curved under. It reminded him of fox paws.

"Who hurt you?"

"Sister." There was no malice or pain in her voice and she didn't bother open her eyes over something mild like that. He realized he'd already been blaming her unknown grandfather and his head turned as his eyes narrowed in surprise.

"Your sister did this to you?"

She cracked an eye open and gave him a look that seemed to wonder why he was still thinking along this track.

"Yes. She's very good."

"She almost killed you," he felt compelled to point out in his emotionless voice and her lips curved again as her eye shut.

"Yes. I told you – she's very good."

"You needed to be dying so that the village would allow you inside without question," he kept his voice expressionless. From a flatly rational standpoint, her solution was an expeditious and sensible one.

"I don't have much of an excuse to be here otherwise," she agreed, words starting to come easier to her the more she talked. "Any other reason could always simply be traced back to the village I claimed to be from and discovered as false." The edge of her mouth quirked at her own joke. "Dying is hard to be false about."

He set the glass down on the table next to the bed and stood up.

"Are you planning on almost dying again anytime soon?"

"No," her answer was as calm and mild as his question had been. "Not anytime soon."

He nodded and left her there. There was a nurse down the hall at a desk and he needed to send word to the Hokage that she was awake. Then he needed to take a long walk around the interior of the hospital. He realized at some point during it that his knuckles were starting to hurt and unclenched his fists in surprise.

When he made it back to her room, Tsunade was just coming out. She met her eyes and gave him a dry look.

"She's fine, Namikaze. She's smug and she's a spit-fire, but she'll be fine. You need to go home though. It's been three days and if I catch you sleeping in that chair in there one more time, I'm going to drop kick you in one long arch right back to your apartment."

He'd always had a sneaking suspicion that she truly liked him and her rebuke turned up the edges of his own lips in answer.

"Yes, mother."

She hit him on the back of the head and let him into the room.

Gold eyes greeted him over the top of a pillow. His little Whirlpool fox in human form had shifted so that she was curled up in a ball facing the door and the eyes looked vaguely guilty without seeming to understand why. Tsunade had that effect on people. He walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed again.

"Scratch my back."

In the process of a silent sigh, he turned his head to give her a blank look.

"What?"

"My back. Scratch it. With your fingers."

"As opposed to my teeth?" he asked, the dry response coming without permission from his common sense.

"Yes." She either didn't catch, or chose to ignore, his sarcasm. His mind was finally catching up though and he had the bad feeling this was going to be another one of those conversations with her that refused to make sense.

He wasn't sure he was in the mood for that.

"I can't – scratch your back?"

"Yes. You can. It's why humans have fingers. Scratch my back."

"No, we don– why am I scratching your back?"

"It itches."

He had the sudden, absolutely idiotic desire to laugh and didn't know why. Maybe this was what going mad felt like, because he could have sworn he had just been angry with her.

"Fox… people don't scratch other people's backs."

"I'm not a 'people'," she said the term as if it were a foreign word. "And yes – they do. Because they're not built right to scratch their own backs."

"No." He was firm. "They don't."

Gold eyes gave him a look and he had the bad feeling that he'd just done something stupid. Very slowly, as if coaxing a child, she asked:

"Then what do they do when their backs itch?"

He paused. Narrowed his eyes at her. She looked steadily back at him and waited. Jaw tightening, he finally reached over and, awkwardly, ran his fingers between her shoulder blades. She was wearing some sort of loose smock and the fabric was unpleasant under his touch, stiff without conveying any of her body heat but he still felt her shoulders sag and heard her exhale as she shut her eyes. He started to lift his hand away but she muttered:

"Still itches."

He let his hand rest on her again but asked:

"Isn't your back hurt?"

She made a noise, face muffled in the pillow and twitched her shoulders at him.

"I wasn't running away. Cuts in the front. Scratch." One of her gold eyes opened to peer up at him and it was weak and pleading. He half suspected it was a trick. His fingers moved again despite that and he scratched her back for her.

It was strangely relaxing and after a while she started to shift under his fingers so that he was scratching different parts of her back. If she were human… the intimacy would have been disturbing. Somehow, even with her human back under his hand, he still felt as if he was scratching a fox. Especially when she stretched and went entirely limp, lips curved in a pleased smile.

It was an utterly bizarre situation and his mind refused to comment on it, leaving him to do what he pleased.

His fingers stilled on her however and he lifted his head when he heard the steps outside the door. She had wrapped her arms around the pillow near his leg and buried her face in its mass in front of her but she lifted her head now, amber eyes blinking slow. There was a soft tap at the door and then a nurse opened it to reveal both Jiraiya and Orochimaru, followed closely by the Hokage. Tsunade came just behind them. Both Minato and the human fox looked blankly at them for a long minute before Minato remembered himself and stood up, hand slipping away from her.

"Sandaime Hokage-sama. Sensei, Orochimaru-san, Tsunade-hime."

Jiraiya wiggled his eyebrows at his student. Minato ignored it. The Hokage smiled slightly and walked over to the bed. He gave Minato a nod but it was the girl he paid his attention to. Her eyes had settled on Orochimaru though and they didn't blink or look away as the taller man joined the Hokage.

"It's good to see you awake," the Hokage settled into the chair near her bed that Minato had been spending most of his time in, absently picking up the scroll he'd left there and resting it in his lap. Amber eyes shifted to him but still shot brief glances as Orochimaru as she shifted to sit up. Her movements were stiff but they still held a grace at their edges that Minato realized he felt proud of for no understandable reason.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." It was no guess on her part. The Third Hokage wore his robes of office everywhere he went. He smiled at her.

"It seems you've had quite a rough time of it."

Slow, hesitating, she nodded. He nodded in response.

"We found your emblem. You are from the Land of the Whirlpool?"

She nodded again, more sure this time, and he smiled.

"Why don't we start there? And let it lead to how you came to be in the river so close to our village."

"Yes," her voice was a half tone lower than Minato was used to and her brows came down. She shifted, hands finding her lap and she suddenly looked like a thousand other shinobi warriors reporting to their leader.

"I had been away visiting a friend in the Land of Honey. About a half-day from my village, I saw smoke. At first I thought it was a grass fire but as I got closer I saw it was too dark for that. I – my village – it was burned. Most of the buildings were destroyed. They were – still on fire. There were – bodies… everywhere. My home was – " her voice choked and she tucked her chin for a moment, brows knotting hard over her eyes. "I was looking for survivors when I was attacked. I couldn't see the symbol if they were wearing emblems. I – didn't do well." Her hands were knotted in her lap, knuckles white and she consciously opened her fingers. "I fell into the river. I woke up here. I don't – I'm not sure what happened to my village."

She squeezed her eyes shut at the last confession and her fingers dug into the blanket over her lap again. For a long moment, the only sound in the room was her tight, controlled breathing. The Hokage leaned forward and rested one of his worn hands over both of hers.

"The Land of the Whirlpool has been one of our most faithful allies for generations. My own students were stationed there years ago. You're welcome here."

"Thank you," her voice was strained but she attempted a smile that went sadly awry. He gave her hands a light squeeze.

"What's your name, kunoichi?"

"Uzumaki." She raised her face to look at him through wet eyes. "My name is Uzumaki Kushina."

From her position next to Jiraiya, Tsunade suddenly straightened.

"I thought you looked familiar. Jiraiya – do you remember?"

The white haired shinobi narrowed his eyes and looked closely at the little fox. Who peered at him from under the tops of her eyes, both shy and hopeful. Minato refused to react to the sudden news.

"The tiny little red head that was always outrunning and out-climbing the boys," Tsunade prompted. "You remember, the one that, when the boys tried to scare her with a frog they'd found, 'saved' it from them and then wanted you to take it to keep it safe."

Jiraiya suddenly broke into a grin.

"I remember! Feisty little thing." He turned his attention on the little fox. "You punched out that boy that was teasing you about your hair. His mother said you were a menace." His smile and obvious pride made the title an accolade. The fox somehow managed to look embarrassed and pleased at the same time and her shoulders shifted a little. Jiraiya put his hands on his hips.

"You've grown up well. I remember when you were just a knee high pile of walking dirt under that wild red." He leaned in to give her a smile. "You clean up well, Uzumaki." His smile went a bit smugger and in a stage whisper with a side glance at his student, he added: "Not too bad looking either now."

Minato watched her feet wiggle and she grinned back at his teacher as she chirped her 'thank you'. He bit down on the urge to drag one of them, either one of them, out of the room and – and he just had the urge to separate them. What he'd do with them after that, he wasn't sure.

The Hokage looked pleased and he nodded and gave the fox's hand one more pat before he stood up.

"You see?" he asked her. "Among friends already."

Minato followed the others out into the hallway when they left the room and the Hokage waited until the door was closed to turn to them.

"The girl has obviously been through a great deal. And the Land of the Whirlpool hasn't answered the message I sent them when we discovered her. Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade, I want you to go. Get there as fast as you can and find out what's going on. I want news, not action unless it's something that will make a real difference. Namikaze, you will remain her guardian while she's with us. If her village is really gone, she may be with us for a long time. Make sure she has somewhere to stay and keep an eye on her." He exhaled and looked suddenly older. "If what she says is really what has happened, I fear it will not be a single incident. I need to talk to the Council. Whole villages don't get destroyed so completely without something vile on the wind."

He dismissed them with that and Minato caught Jiraiya's eye in time to receive a grin and a wink before his teacher was striding down the hall next to his companions. Minato turned to the door that led back to the room but he paused for a long moment outside of it before pushing it open.

The fox was curled up on the bed again, tucked into herself the way no woman could have managed. Her eyes had already been open and they silently followed him as he walked over to pick up his scroll.

"That wasn't you all those years ago with my teacher, was it?"

Her head hardly moved but she shook it in a strange, halting way that indicated a negative.

"So there really was a Kushina that lived in the Whirlpool Country?" he asked emotionlessly and she nodded silently without lifting her head from the mattress. He carefully set the scroll into the bag of scrolls he'd brought to read and slung it over his shoulder.

"Is the Land of the Whirlpool really destroyed?"

Another silent nod with unblinking golden eyes that watched him. He finally met them.

"Do you know who did it?"

"No."

He headed for the door.

"Is dead Kushina going to forgive you for stealing her place?"

It wasn't a fair question to ask but she still surprised him when she didn't answer it. He paused at the door to look at her over his shoulder but she had tucked her face into her arms. For some reason, he waited. Her voice was thick when she finally answered him and she didn't raise her face.

"She is the one that gave it to me."

He paused in his impulse. Her voice was very quiet and hard to hear when she added:

"She was my friend."


	4. Chapter 4

_straight to the best beloveds! **jini!** - I'm glad you're enjoying Kushina-fox. I've got to admit, I'm really having fun with her too. I've got Minato in my head pretty firmly (he works on the computer while my Cloud muse sits on the couch and watches old black and white Westerns) but Kushina-fox comes and goes like she's got a door she pops in and out of or something. Usually just enough to look over Minato's shoulder, make a comment, steal some of Cloud's popcorn and then she's gone again. Unlike Minato, I actually have to write a situation or bit of dialogue before I have the slightest clue how she'll respond. It makes for fun but planning anything involving her is mote. heh - glad she's turning out 'foxy' though. I'm relieved and pleased to hear it. **mc **- I wish I could point you to a time period but the writer of Naruto is just as confusing as you think. For instance, refrigerators are okay and the milk even comes in cartons, not glass jars, yet there are no phones (that I can remember), no cars and no gunpowder. Electricity? yes. Television - I think I saw someone hugging one once. Movies - apparently yes. Convenience stores? Yes! Come to think of it - and my knowledge is limited - I don't think I've ever seen a bike. As far as I can tell, Naruto's writer simply uses what he wants to for the story and if it isn't relevant - or like gunpowder - would get in the way, he doesn't. I like to think of it as an alternate universe in which the technology simply developed differently. And hey - I had to wiki one of your references - we're teaching each other new things! I had to go back and look up Toshiro. Though what it is about all these attractive characters being taken... when you find the answer to that, share it with me too. ;) ** cholericDolphin** - welcome to the party, drinks are in the fridge! and thank you. I'm trying to keep this new enough to interest and familiar enough to be... er, familiar. And, never fear, oh best beloved, I'll be updating every week, Sunday night or Monday morning, short of ffnet going on the fritz or me ending up physically unable to reach the computer. It's a promise I made when I was writing _Tales Within Tales_ and I'll make it here too. __I've been on the reading end of the spectrum often enough myself so I know how it feels. **demonegg!** - I can't tell you how much I love you for coming over and reading this. I would send you hamster whisker kisses if I could. x:3 And oh - I'm so glad you find Minato intriguing. I am so used to writing Cloud trying to be a good man, it's something entirely refreshing for me writing someone trying to be bad. Most of the reason I find this story so easy to write is because I want to keep sitting down with Minato and going 'so - what's next?'. He's casual when I'm used to restrained, retiring when I'm used to demanding, subtle when I'm used to forward, forward when I'm used to subtle.... it's fun. I find I like spending time with him. **weehoo107** - heh heh - one of the reasons I'm writing this story is because I was so hungry for some good Minato/Kushina stories myself. They really do seem like such an intriguing couple and there's very little out there about them. They need more love. And your flattery makes my little author's heart swell - thank you :) Welcome to the party, pull up a chair! Let's see what kind of mischief we can get into this week with our daring duo, eh? And speaking of which..._

Chapter 4:

He woke up to find her perched on his windowsill. For a very long moment, he simply lay there where he'd rolled onto his side to face the rising sun and looked at her. Eyes bright in her pointed face she looked cheerfully back at him.

"Don't I have traps set to keep people from reaching my window?" he finally asked calmly and her mouth curved.

"Your traps don't work anymore."

"Did you disable able them all for fun or is that vagary just in reference to you?"

"Yes," was his bright answer.

He grunted and sat up, swinging his legs over the bed. It was too early in the day for him to be having foxy conversations with an insane woman.

"I'm going to be getting a message from the hospital soon, hysterical, about the fact you're missing, aren't I?"

His back was toward her and he could still tell when she cocked her head. Her fingers scratched lightly behind her ear.

"Yes. Probably when they try to wake me up for breakfast."

He grunted again and stood up. Usually wandering around in nothing but a pair of loose pants, his scars visible, would have been anathema. Especially in front of a woman. She wasn't a real woman though and he couldn't imagine that she paid any more attention to the way his body looked or the marks on it, than he paid to fox bodies in the rare times he saw them.

"Well, come in," he muttered as he headed for the bathroom. "Just don't touch anything."

By the time he came out, more alert and ready to deal with foxy mischief, she was in the kitchen. Touching things. He walked over and reached over her shoulder to take the flour away from her that she'd been cautiously sniffing.

"No fox paws in the food," he stated and moved around her to open the icebox. She'd obviously already been in there too but he ignored it and took out the eggs and milk. She inspected the eggs with a gleam in her eyes as he found the frying pan she'd already moved and turned on the stove.

"I like eggs," she informed him as he took them deliberately away from her.

"I bet," he muttered and she huffed laughter at him and went to perch on a nearby chair at the tiny table he usually ate at. Usually he'd be expected to keep up a running pointless conversation if he had a guest – one of the many reasons he didn't have guests – but she was a fox and he didn't think talking was first nature to her. So it wasn't guilt but comfortable silence that settled in the room as he cooked the eggs and she watched everything he did with silent curiosity. Making breakfast, instead of catching it, was probably a new experience for her. He set the full plate in front of her and then fixed his own. To his surprise, she waited until he had sat down and started to eat himself before she began her own meal. He watched her use the chopsticks from the corners of his eyes. She seemed to have the concept of them down solidly enough even if they shook a little in her grip from time to time.

He gave her what was left in the pan and she ate that too while he washed the dishes he'd already used. His kitchen, his apartment, was always spotless. It helped that he didn't have much to start with. She was experimenting with the taste of the juice he'd poured for her when he took her empty plate away. From the look on her face, she was still apparently trying to decide if she liked it or not when he finished wiping everything off and sat down in the chair across from her again. He watched her roll the liquid around in her mouth for a little while and could easily imagine her tongue moving in quest.

"When you're done, we'll go buy you some clothes. And tell the hospital where you are so they don't bother the Hokage."

"Yondaime," she had swallowed her mouthful and the word came out a little liquid and melodious with darker notes under it, like dark wine. The edges of his mouth twitched upward.

"Sandaime," he corrected. "He's the _Third _Hokage. We won't have a Fourth Hokage until he dies or resigns. He's training Orochimaru to be Yondaime Hokage."

She shook her head, brows down.

"You're Yondaime."

His lips quirked a bit more and he shook his head as he stood and saved her from having to decide what her opinion of fruit juice was by taking the glass to the sink and dumping it out before washing it out quickly.

"I'm ANBU," he responded. "I'm jonin rank. I'm Jiraiya's pupil. I am not Yondaime."

Her arms were suddenly around his waist and she was pressed into the hollows of his back. It surprised him though the only sign was the dip of his eyebrows. The strength of her arms and the way she held on to him surprised him almost as much as the touch.

"My Yondaime."

There was even the rumble of a growl in her declaration and he found it had loosened the edges of his lips. She struck him as stubborn when she set her mind on something and he didn't think this one was something worth trying to argue her out of it over. Very lightly, he touched one of her wrists with a fingertip.

"All right. Not in front of others though."

The last thing he needed was the Hokage thinking he had designs on the position. While Minato could be viciously, quietly competitive he understood when competition only caused problems. Her arms disappeared from around him as quickly as they'd come and she was across the room and twirling toward the door.

"Clothes," she sang and he thought just about anything was preferable to the shapeless smock they'd given her to wear at the hospital. She shot him a look over her shoulder, gold eyes sparkles and added:

"Though wouldn't you rather I not wear anything at all?"

He shook his head as he strolled over to her, catching up his shinobi vest as he walked to tug it on over his long sleeved shirt.

"It would certainly draw attention when you went outside," he commented mildly, refusing to rise to what she was implying. She chuffed sounds at him of pleasure and spun along next to him as they went out the door and down the stairs, reminding him of the autumn wind in fallen leaves.

"You could just keep me in your room for always."

"You'd make a mess."

She caught his nearest hand in both of hers and snapped her teeth at him with a wide foxy grin. Despite himself, the edges of his lips quirked in answer.

He had thought he was prepared for clothes shopping for a woman. Granted, he'd never done something that lacking in self-preservation before but he'd heard enough horror stories to prepare himself mentally. She was either going to need to stop at every shop in the merchants' district five times before deciding on a single piece of clothing or else she was going to dart in, grab the first thing she saw, and that would be the end of things. He'd been prepared to indulge a woman's need to shop or else brace against the colorblind choices of someone that didn't.

He hadn't counted on the shopkeepers falling in love with his little fox.

It had started when she'd exclaimed in brilliant excitement over the soft feel of one of the shirts folded on a table and had rabidly spiraled so far out of his sphere of control he was still trying to figure out what had happened.

Now he stood somewhere outside of the circle of people that were swirling around his little fox as if she were the pin on a colorful pinwheel. She was a princess as they tripped over themselves to show her their favorite and favored products but she was a desolate princess because she greeted each new offering with such unaffected delight and pleasure she dazed the bearers of the gifts. Standing outside the flurry of activity, his arms crossed loosely over his chest, back resting comfortably against the corner of the building, he realized he was smiling, just a little, at the picture in front of him.

It didn't help that she made these impossibly adorable chirping sounds when something particularly delighted her.

"Namikaze – "

He turned his head and watched as Umino trotted over to him. The other man was cheerful but Minato appreciated the persevering nature that worked behind the smile as much as he enjoyed the fact he rarely had to feel guarded or awkward around the other man. Umino was chuckling as he came to a stop next to Minato.

"Is that the new girl from the Whirlpool Country?"

Minato made a noise and gave a nod, not bothering shift his stance and Umino slumped against the wall next to him. For a long moment, both men observed the chirping, smiling, laughing whirl of color and cloth that made up the fox and merchants. Minato turned his head when he heard a noise and noticed Umino chuckling quietly to himself. The other man caught his glance and shrugged.

"Well, she's so thrilled, it's kinda cute, isn't it? No wonder they're tripping over themselves. It's like a kid that's never been in a candy store before. You just want to show them how much fun it is, right?"

"The Whirlpool County's a bit off the trade routes."

Umino nodded with a smile.

"Guess she's making up for lost time. Who's paying for all of this anyway?"

"She hasn't actually _bought _anything yet," Minato pointed out, feeling a bit puzzled by that. He didn't answer the question about where the money was coming from. It was coming from him. He certainly had enough of it between his natural tendency to live sparsely and to hoard against possible future emergencies, not to mention the fact he took missions, not when he needed the money, but every chance he got. While he was sure that the Hokage and the Council would provide her with a stipend until she either had a job of her own or her country turned out to still be standing and able to take her back, he didn't feel right about that. She was here because of him. Getting someone else to pay her way seemed dishonest. He didn't voice any of that however because a great deal of it wasn't information he'd share anyway and the rest of it wasn't information he was at liberty to share. That there was a new girl from the Whirlpool Country was going to be impossible to keep silent. Why she was here or what that meant though, he was fairly sure wasn't general knowledge and he wasn't going to contribute to it. Umino nodded again.

"Just as well. She's going to break hearts unless she buys _everything_."

The observation made Minato's eyes widen fractionally despite himself and some of the color drained from his face. He could afford to clothe her. He couldn't afford to buy the entire shopping district.

"Excuse me," he straightened from the wall and left Umino chuckling as he waded into the rush of cloth and chattering merchant and hums of contentment over the feel of fabric. He caught the little fox's wrist in his hand.

"We've got to go," he decided and her gold eyes, too large and luminescent to be real, rose to his with an innocence he didn't believe for a moment.

"But – " she protested. He was already sorting through the piles of draped clothing and dropping bits and pieces of it into her lap.

"Buy these," he told her and glanced over just in time to see her sneaking a skirt from a merchant's arms into the pile he was creating. He narrowed his eyes and went back to selecting practicalities.

That skirt had looked far too short for safety too.

He felt a slight jerk and without looking knew she was using the hand he didn't have trapped to snatch clothes from her new circle of admirers. He couldn't bring himself to deny her the right but he also didn't want to encourage either her or her new found friends and so he pretended he didn't know what she was doing behind his back.

The pile they ended up with was larger than the one he'd contributed but he was surprised it didn't seem larger by much. He made her carry it just to keep her arms full and her hands from finding more and steered her toward the counter to pay for it all. She wasn't paying attention, chattering away happily – she knew most of the merchants' _names _already? – and let him direct her where they needed to go. He helped the shopkeeper sort through the goods once they were safely at the counter.

"What's this?" he held it up.

"It's for you," his fox told him with a smile.

"I don't need a shirt."

"It's _soft_."

He decided it was safer not to get into fox arguments and let it be added to the pile.

"What's this?'

"It's a shirt. For me."

"Are you sure? Because it looks more like a napkin. A really, really small napkin."

"You're just jealous I didn't get you one too."

"What's this?

"It's a – I don't know – "

With a snort that almost threatened to become a laugh, he tossed it aside.

"Take these," he passed clothing into her hands. "Go change. I'll finish up here."

"Don't throw out any of my stuff."

"Go change."

She nipped the tip of his nose with a grin and bounced off deeper into the shop to find the fitting room. Minato watched her go with an exasperated, and content, look. Then he noticed the sales clerk had stopped counting up the bill and was looking at him oddly. He gave her a blank look and she quickly dropped her eyes and went back to her tally.

"How – strange to see you here, Minato-kun."

He turned to see a slender, dark haired woman with a soft smile on her lips.

Mikoto was one of the few people he found himself entirely comfortable around. He always had. She had lived in the house next to his family's when they had both been children and was one of the only people that probably suspected anything. She never mentioned it though, not then and not now. He gave her a slightly embarrassed grimace, aware of the fact that some of the items he was buying were intimate despite the fact it hadn't even occurred to him until a moment ago.

"Yes," he managed.

Her eyes left his face to drift over the folded clothing the merchant was putting into boxes and bags for him and he watched her delicate brows sink slightly.

"You're buying… clothes?" she finally asked. The situation finally made the edge of his mouth twitch.

"Yeah. I'm helping a friend."

"Oh." Her brows twitched briefly down again. Then she looked up at him and her gaze was almost sharp. He'd never known her to have any aspect of her personality that was sharp before. Unlike her mother… "It's not one of the Hyuga girls, is it?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me about the Hyuga twins?" he blurted before he could stop himself and she covered her lips with her fingers and smiled. Even the woman behind the counter snickered and he shot her a slightly annoyed, slightly mystified look.

"Sign here," the store clerk pushed the logbook across the counter at him and he scribbled his initials next to the amount. Since he wasn't about to keep his money in a box in his room or the lining of his mattress, he left it with one of the Hokage's secretaries instead. Quite a few shinobi did. His mark would let the secretary know to give the appropriate amount to the shop owner at the end of the week when the bills came due. It was useful because it meant he didn't have to carry large amounts around with him, but it was in place because too many shinobi were usually out on missions when simple things like rent came due. It also kept their money safe for their next of kin when they didn't make it back.

"All right, I figured it out." His little fox suddenly appeared next to him. "The ties are funny though."

He looked down at her and had to admit… it looked better than the smock they'd had her in before.

Much better.

The tank top was a simple cut that formed a v in the front and scooped a little in the back. Her pants were black too and fell just below her knees. She'd pulled her hair back with a black ribbon he didn't remember buying for her and it hung in one long rich foxtail down her back, swinging each time she moved or spoke in emphasis of her point.

"They go this way," he explained calmly, reaching down to cross the ornamental black ribbons that laced down the side of the top. She'd simply threaded them across and so he unthreaded them now and slipped them through the proper hoops, tying them off with an efficient knot that would keep them in place. She raised her arms over her head and spun for him and he bit back the smile as she presented her other side to him and he repeated the process. She made little huffing noises on the second round and he realized she was ticklish.

Releasing the ribbon after it was properly tied, he straightened… to find Mikoto watching him with the strangest look on her face. For some reason it made him feel strangely self-conscious.

"What?" he asked her. His bland question seemed to snap her out of whatever had been going on and she shook her head.

"Nothing. This must be the friend you were telling me about?"

"Yes," he remembered his manners and was ashamed that he'd forgotten. "This is Uzumaki Kushina. She's here from the Whirlpool Country. Kushina, this is Nara Mitoko, an old friend of mine."

"She looks young," the fox offered. "She can't be that old."

He shot her a look but she was smiling at the other woman.

"I'm sorry. I've been hoarding Minato to myself for quite a few days now, haven't I? I didn't mean to keep him from his friends. Friends are important too."

"Oh, no. No, it's not like that." Mitoko's soft voice was apologetic. "Minato-kun's like the wind. He comes and goes and we simply enjoy him when he's there."

"Funny," his fox turned to him with her hands on her hips. "Because he hasn't left me alone since I got here."

He narrowed his eyes slightly at her, because he knew she was up to something even if he couldn't figure out, yet, what it was.

"You haven't exactly protested," he warned, voice low and inflectionless. She surprised him with a burst of sunlight grin.

"No," she agreed cheerfully.

"I have to go," Mitoko interrupted politely and Minato turned his attention back on her. She was sorting through the contents of her basket though and he couldn't make out her eyes. "I only wanted to stop by to greet Minato-kun." She looked up then and gave him a soft smile before turning her attention on the fox. "It was nice to meet you. I hope I will see you again."

"You will," the fox assured her with a bright smile. "And we can leave everyone else behind and tell each other horrible made up secrets about them."

She said it so enthusiastically that Mitoko smiled.

"Yes," she agreed. "That sounds fun."

Minato turned around to pick up the bags as she left and caught a look from the sales clerk behind the counter. It stated that he was an idiot male. He turned back to the fox.

"What was that about?" he asked calmly as they proceeded to leave the shop. She gave him a wide-eyed look that earned her a flat one in answer. She made an annoyed huffing sound.

"You humans are so strange. Why does she smell of the need for you when she already has another male's scent on her skin?"


	5. Chapter 5

_things were going too smoothly. I think we need a little bit more tension. who's with me?! and of course, my best beloveds. **weehoo107** - the plot chichenz, it chichenz indeed. How your review made me laugh, that was great :D **mc** - yeah, Minato's writing a bit differently than I'm used to. he's so... unflappable. I think a part of the reason he's so comfortable with touching Kushina for instance is because he still views her as a fox and who gets self-conscious scratching an animal's back? But more than that, I think he's just seriously that flat-line about weird stuff popping up randomly in his life. 'You want me to take the fox that's dressed up like a woman that's supposed to be seducing me underwear shopping? eh... okay.' lol I can only assume it's because he's gotten used to weird stuff and I think the little fox just throws things at him to try for a rise half the time. Both of their grasp of the absurd seems to be pretty firm and I think that's one of the reasons they're so comfortable with the situation they're in. And thanks, I'm trying to keep the 'fox' in foxy ;) **cholericDolphin** - I'm glad you're having so much fun. I am too. Kushina is a trip to write for, I can always count on her to make me smile and for surprises. Every now and then she goes serious on us, but not often. **velo** - why thank you and welcome to the party. Pull up a chair and get comfortable. I'm pleased - I really have done my research when it comes to Japanese kitsune and it's good to hear that I'm bringing the ideas over properly. There are such interesting stories about them in folklore, I just couldn't resist. I'm trying to have Kushina be 'folklore' and yet the natural 'human' feel to her as well. And I'll admit, I can write some marshmallowy fluff at times but Minato refuses to write that way and I think it's suitable for him. So far he's insisted on doing this whole 'seduction' thing his own way and I'm not about to argue. If that makes things more believable than I'm glad. :D And** jini!** heh, I love the way I get double reviews out of you betaing for me - lol. Minato and Kushina are taking their 'relationship' at a bit of an angle. It's new for me and I'm as curious to see how it develops as everyone else. And thank you. I try to leave enough hints that when something happens people can be surprised but not thrown off by it. We're not done with Mikoto yet either ;0 and **sammy-zee** - welcome, welcome, drinks are in the fridge. Ask and you shall recieve, right? lol Kushina is having a lot of fun and she's a lot of fun to write. Origonally I'd meant this to be a much more traditional approach to the MinaKushi story but they just wouldn't write that way for me. Instead I get foxes and 'bad' Minato. It's an interesting ride, that's for sure. I'm glad you're enjoying it. Shall we see what kind of trouble we can get into next?  
_

Chapter 5:

"Mikoto has a father, two brothers and a betrothed you could be smelling. She and I are friends. There is no 'need'. Could you please stop commenting on the way women smell in relation to me?"

"But smell is as much a way of communicating as what you do with your ridiculously mobile faces or the sounds that you make around each other. In fact, you often lie with your faces and sounds but your smell doesn't."

He exhaled quietly and wondered how many men, in the history of the world, had ever had a conversation like this.

"Fox, lying is sometimes better. The way you are for instance."

She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, red hair swaying and grinned.

"Yes," she agreed smugly. "But none of you can smell when I'm lying."

He gave her a look and she huffed merrily at him before her face fell. She didn't do too badly on the 'mobility' of her features herself.

"I don't have to do any more 'clothes shopping', do I?"

"Please no," he answered before he could stop himself and she grinned, chirping noise in the back of her throat.

"Good. I want to look around instead. On two legs for a change."

"You've been here before on four?" he asked in mild curiosity as he caught sight of one of the younger boys still training at the Academy.

"Of course," she answered, pausing as he turned to beckon the boy over. "We all do. You have the best trash."

His eyes narrowed at their edges and he decided not to explore that comment.

"Akimichi, mission for you." He began transferring bags. "Deliver these to my apartment. Here's the key." He finished the job and went down onto his heels in front of the now misbalanced boy. "If you and your friends happen to decide to stay there for the rest of the afternoon and eat what's in the icebox, I think that will be all right too."

The boy's eyes lit and he nodded.

"Yes, Namikaze-san."

Minato straightened and ruffled the boy's hair before turning him and heading him off in the right direction. The fox watched, moving up to stand at his side as the boy tottered down the street.

"You're sharing your den?"

Minato shrugged.

"Children need a safe place to be themselves. Somewhere they can feel like adults without having to actually be one. If they're in my apartment, I know they'll be safe. I leave snacks in the kitchen. He's a good kid and his group doesn't usually leave too much of a mess."

"You like kits."

For some reason that made him feel as if he'd just exposed a secret of his to her. He shifted a shoulder.

"We understand each other."

She nodded at his expressionless intonation but her brows were down as if she were storing away important facts. Both of her hands found one of his and when she looked back up it was determined.

"Show me your village, Yondaime."

Konoha was a large village. Years of prosperity and solid leadership had seen it grow to a size that rivaled any of the other prestigious villages and each year it seemed it grew just a little more. It was a mismatched mix of older buildings and ones in the newest style, often right next to each other and sometimes one even built directly onto the roof of another. Pipes were randomly bolted onto the sides of structures to drain the inevitable run off of water during the rainy season and in some areas the shingles were laid so heavily that they looked more like carelessly scattered paper than carefully designed protection against the elements. It was loud and busy with people, packed shops and gaudy painted signs crowding some sections and yet the section one street over could be calm and serene with plants peeking through from courtyards and enclosed gardens. Banners, flags, and streamers hung across the busier streets and fluttered with ever rustling sounds in the breeze. It was chaotic and maze-like and Minato loved it. He had always loved it. The people, but even the village itself. It had held, and he supposed always would hold, to him, life and all that meant. It was the eggshell that carried the promise of everything inside. As much as he enjoyed his trips to other lands, as much as he needed to be out in the forest around the village or up on the mountains that loomed over it, as much as his soul needed silence and green growing things, he would never lose the feeling of simple human magic that the Village of Konohagakure always brought him.

The little fox seemed more than content to travel along the absolutely pointless routes that he took. He hadn't even realized they'd started rambling until he stepped around a stream of water flowing down the middle of a narrow street and realized they'd come to one of the more run-down parts of the village.

It wasn't exactly where you took visitors that you wanted to impress and yet, next to him, the fox was ambling along with her softly pleased look, relaxed and content. He realized his hands had slipped into his pockets and he was content too.

He wasn't used to being content. He wasn't used to being discontent. He simply wasn't used to having any emotion to apply to himself when nothing was happening.

Ahead of them children darted from one alley across the road and into the next one chasing a battered leather ball. There weren't many shinobi families that lived in this part of the village and the children here were free to grow up without the games that mocked future life and death struggles.

"Some parts of your village laugh more than others," she observed, and he realized just how long they'd been walking companionably together without a word. He was just making a noise to show he'd heard when her head snapped up and her brows came down. He watched her sniff at the air. He inhaled automatically but smelled nothing that he hadn't a moment ago. She broke into a slow trot and wove down an alley.

He was tempted to dryly comment about trash but the line of her shoulders told him otherwise. He fell into pace at the back of her shoulder and from old, ingrained habit his fingertips briefly rested on his hidden weapons. Some shinobi went out without their flak vests when they were off duty. Minato never stepped out of his apartment without his on and stocked.

"What is it?" he asked because he didn't know her methods or trust her enough to simply follow blindly. Her hair swung against her back and she didn't look away from the weaving path she was taking.

"Something bad. Something _wrong_."

"What?"

Her head shook, an unsettling and resettling of fur that had nothing to do with a negative.

"If I knew I would have named it."

"Really?"

"You're a contrary man."

She hooked a sharp right and into a space between two houses that was almost too small to be called an alley. He had to twist his shoulders to follow her. The narrow alley let out into another alley that was a little wider and ended on both sides by opening out into streets. She froze and he stopped behind her, one hand on her shoulder and ready to move her out of the way. Under his fingers, her body was stiff.

He followed her focus and spotted the dog at the end of the alley. He'd heard that foxes were scared of dogs. In legend, one of the ways to discover a kitsune, past the tail the one in front of him obviously didn't have, was to let them hear a dog barking. The sound was supposed to scare them so badly they lost their human form. For some reason, he had a hard time believing that.

"Fox…?" his question was very soft.

"_Wrong_," her answer was a low hissing sound and the shoulder under his hand shifted forward. He heard as much as saw the show of her teeth. When she spoke again, it seemed to be with trouble, as if tongue or teeth were in the way. There was a low whine hidden under the tone of it. "It's _bad_, Yondaime."

He slipped an arm around her and lifted, depositing her behind him and letting go. The dog at the head of the alley hadn't noticed them, which probably was only the mildest of signs that it wasn't acting like a normal dog. Instead it stood on trembling legs that it had braced wide apart and its head hung low to the ground. In the silence of the alley, he thought he heard a rumbling, thick sound coming from it, a liquid bubbling noise and he watched saliva hanging in long streams from its jowls. His hand spread protectively in front of the fox.

"Stay put," he told her. Unable to see either side of the street, a thrown weapon had the potential to be dodged and to hit an innocent. And something told him, he very much didn't want the dog getting close enough to him to break his skin. His fingers started automatically folding through one of the ritual jutsu –

and suddenly there was a flash of gold and red passed him. Her motion started his in instinctive reaction but she had a second's lead and she wasn't moving with human speed.

He saw the child chasing the battered ball right past the mouth of the alley where the dog waited. He was skidding low even as she went high and his body impacted with the dog's even as it lunged, tangling them both together and stopping the beast's forward motion. The body was heavier than he'd been expecting and he instinctively raised his hands to find the creature's throat, clearly aware of the snapping jaws. Getting mauled wasn't the true danger. The smell hit him as they both thrashed, human and canine. It was the smell of old sickness but it was also the smell of mad carnivorous fury and mindless terror. It twisted his heart in his chest and he sent chakra down his arms and flooded his hands with it as his fingers found purchase on a thickly muscled neck. He dug in. Above him the creature roared. Minato shifted his legs and wrapped them tightly around the beast, fingers clawing deeper, finding the points he needed. Saliva splashed across his face, as hot as blood, and he shut his eye on that side. Claws tore at him but only bruised instead of tearing though thanks to his vest. He found his points, set his fingers like claws of his own and funneled the chakra into his fingers and wrists. Two years ago he would have given a cry but now, as he wrenched and twisted with well-worn moves, he was silent. The great neck twisted and then broke at the wrong angle and Minato threw the body as he rolled so that it landed hard deeper down the alley. His feet were under him in an instant and he had a knife free.

Things that you killed didn't always stay down.

This creature did though and Minato slowly straightened, dragging his sleeve across his eyelid to clear it before blinking open. He was aware of noise behind him and he moved quickly out of the alley into the surprising brightness of the street. There was a small crowd gathered and he caught the glimpse of red hair in its center. His little fox was crouched and her eyes were slits of gold fire.

He wasn't gentle as he pushed through to her.

"He's bleeding! What – is it too much to expect you to watch where you're going?!" The noise was coming from a large woman, a sobbing child, the same one that had been chasing the ball, clutching the backs of her legs. "There are children here! How inconsiderate do you have to be to – "

"You're done."

His voice was calm and he didn't raise it. He never raised his voice. He had yet to meet anyone that could bear past the iced steel of it to require it. This woman was no exception and he ignored her as he leaned down to lift his fox to her feet.

"Look in the alley. Then you can beg forgiveness and hope she accepts," he instructed and it would take more than a civilian to be able to ignore the order in his voice. He dismissed them from his attention even before the shuffling toward the alley he'd just exited began. Instead he narrowed his eyes and carefully inspected his fox. Her hands were trembling but from the fire in her eyes, he didn't think it was either fear or shock. Other than that he saw some scrapes, no doubt from the dirt road, and little else. The child's damage, passed the startled fear, was probably the same or less.

"Shinobi – " the woman was back and her voice was horrified. "I – I didn't know. I'm so – so sorry, kunoichi. Please. My son – he could have been – Forgive me, kunoichi."

Gold fox eyes blinked but not at the woman. Instead she turned and padded silently away from them both. The crowd parted for her and she trotted over to where the broken body of the dog lay. Without a word, she stooped and lifted it to her chest as if it was a child. Two steps and she was on the low tile roof. Two seconds passed that, she was gone. Face emotionless, Minato turned back to the stammering woman.

"Your son isn't hurt?" he asked calmly and she pulled wide, frightened eyes from the empty roofs and focused on him.

"Oh, no, shinobi-san. Scrapes, frightened. I thought – I truly thought she had just been careless in her hurry. I – I would have never – " her eyes went back to the vacant tiles. "I'll never forgive myself for being such a fool."

He made a non-committal sound and swung himself easily onto a nearby rooftop. Someone else's guilt, especially if it was deserved, wasn't his responsibility to absolve. Besides, he was too familiar with unfounded anger and accusations. The situation had been resolved. The healing of it though was up to the two involved. And he wasn't sure where one of them had gotten to.

He moved across a few of the rooftops but there was no blood trail. That was his fault. He hadn't wanted whatever had made the dog sick to have a chance to spread. So where would a fox carrying a dead dog go?

She only knew two places in Konoha and neither of them were familiar enough to her to be places of refuge. Which left the woods. He just hoped she'd gone somewhere in them that he could follow.

The rooftops quickly gave way to tree branches and he moved over those just as easily. It was a hunch only but he found himself angling for the abandoned cottage buried deep in the woods. It was a favorite place among the kids still learning at the Academy when they skipped classes, both for its safe haven away from searching eyes and also for its rumors of being haunted. He'd set his trap there because of those rumors. Those… and the fact that he'd found that, when adults searching for truants tried to find the place, it was often impossible to find yet he'd never met a child that couldn't find it with their eyes closed. He'd expected something…

Kitsune made more sense than most.

So he went there now.

It had only been a guess. He didn't bother lie to himself though when he found her there that he was relieved. He wouldn't have known where else to search for her.

She was crouched down next to the dog's body, resting on her haunches. Overlong pale fingers picked delicately through matted fur and she was hunched so close that her face was almost against it, hair loose and a silk covering around what she did.

She looked more fox than human despite the form she still wore.

She ignored him when he touched down on the ground behind her and approached. Dropping to his heels next to her, he rested his forearms over his thighs and waited. Her white fingers continued to part fur and he heard the way she sniffed.

He was surprised to find the desire to pull her away from that… _thing _rising inside him. He didn't give in to impulses though.

It was a long time before she spoke and her words were still a little tangled at their edges.

"It was not sick."

When he didn't protest she grunted.

"It smells like fear. And medicine. And human magic."

She still hadn't raised her head and her eyes would not slide to him. Very gently, he reached out and touched her shoulder.

"Little fox – "

Her head snapped around at his touch and her eyes were a liquid sun shower, golden and full of water. The sudden move knocked drops free.

"I don't _like_ humans."

It was a snarl and yet he heard an almost childlike pain in the depths of it too. Despite himself he reacted to the child part and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, off balancing her. She didn't try to catch herself and ended up against his side. With a sniffling noise she buried her face in the fabric of his vest and her fingers clutched at it like claws. Her shoulders trembled but it wasn't crying. Not exactly.

"It was a kit!" her voice was liquid thick and snarling and wounded. "How could they think I would hurt a kit? On purpose. They thought I hurt the kit on purpose – "

He wrapped both arms around her and drew her closer, exhaling as he rested his chin on the top of her head. He didn't bother tell her the woman was sorry. She'd already heard that. And he didn't tell her that some people did hurt children.

On purpose.

Over and over again until he - until _they _got old enough to put a stop to it themselves…

Instead he held her and rocked, just a little, while she finished shaking and sniffling. Even when she was done, he continued to hold her until he finally felt her shoulders slump. Without really thinking about it, he began to scratch gently along the length of her back with one hand.

"What is this place?" he asked softly after a little while and she sighed and didn't try to move out of his arms.

"Training," her voice didn't sound as if her canines were getting in the way anymore. "We come here to practice being humans. To watch the little humans. Big sister used to bring me here all the time when I was a kit to play at having fingers."

He nodded against her hair and didn't lift his head.

"The one that was too good to kill you?"

Her humming sound was affirmation and after a minute more of silence, she twitched a little in his arms so that he was scratching a different spot on her back. It made something in him unknot and the edges of his lips relaxed. After a minute, her voice drifted up to him.

"Someone did something bad to that dog. They did it on purpose and they did it for a long time. Moon after moon. I couldn't tell if it escaped or if it was thrown away but it was already dying before you freed it."

"Did it smell like Konoha or did it get here after it was loose?"

She gave his calm, quiet question thought and shook her head.

"Konoha."

He'd hoped not. He wasn't surprised though. His hand shifted from scratching to stroking as he moved it to her loose hair.

"Someone made it hurt. Someone made it scared. Someone did it over and over again and didn't care."

Her voice was very small and he thought, maybe, it was, for the first time, just a little frightened. He nodded and his hand kept up its steady movement.

"I know, little fox. I know."


	6. Chapter 6

_well I hope everyone had a merry Christmas and here's to a happy new year! I don't know many people that aren't looking forward to this year being over and I know I'm certainly looking forward to the upcoming year. There are cons to go to, after all ;) And a very special thank you to my best beloveds that reviewed this past week. I know the holidays make everything crazy and it means a lot to me that you took your precious time to review. So - **weehoo107** - you make me blush. Thanks for the thanks on consistency. I try to make it a point - I'm a reader too and my memory tends to clog up with silly things instead of important ones. If a story goes too long between updates I forget what the story was about when I do get an update - lol. I'd like to say it's my diligence but it's nothing of the sort. It's Minato having too much fun and I kind of get dragged along. Which ensures that I write ahead so I've always got extra chapters already ready just in case something comes up to delay or stall me. For instance I haven't written anything in over two weeks - here's your update though ;) **mc **- nope. Nope, that was entirely a typo. It was originally meant to be the general 'they' and then I decided I wanted it more specific to Minato in case anyone hadn't yet realized that he came from an abusive family (trying to find the line between dropping hints and over doing it) and changed it to 'he' and then forgot to change the rest of the sentence to match. Author typo! woops, but there, I've fixed it now. And Minato figures he's going to do something terrible to his son because that's what he's been dreaming night after night for months now. Its a dream in which he's in the process of doing something so horrible that his mind won't tell him what it is and he wakes up before he can. It's a prophetic dream and so he's decided to go out and do something to change, or at least, mitigate whatever it is that's so terrible he can't even see it in his dreams that he's going to do to his son (the hint of course is: what, according to the canon storyline, happens to Naruto when he's just a baby that sets the entire story for the manga and anime in motion?) Minato would see it as pure evil on his part no matter what considering how he feels about protecting children anyway; but coming from an abusive father - he can't imagine anything more unforgivable than hurting your child. Hence his 'bad man' complex. Well, that and the fact he's done some pretty bad things in defense of his country over the years too. Well, and the fact he's shut himself off emotionally and thinks of himself as a pretty cold bastard in that respect too. lol - mostly, he's just got issues. But that's why we love these types of heroes, right?** velo** - you review. The least I can do is thank you for it. Reviews make author's eyes all big and scary shiny - lol. and they certainly help me keep writing because it's fun to play with these 'toys' but its so much more fun when I have other people to play with me. I love discussing story points and character quirks and silly details about stories. Reviews let me kind of do that with my readers and it's fun and makes me want to put in more story points and character quirks and silly details. As for Minato and Kushina - you're right. She likes people and she likes to socialize but I don't know how much 'trust' there is in that. She has however decided that 'her Yondaime' (love that) is trustable. I'm having fun developing that relationship because at the moment, Minato's pretty clueless but there comes a point in the story where he kind of turns the tables on Kushina and she's the one trying to scramble to keep up. I mean, how long is our clever Minato going to last before he starts throwing wrenches into everyone's plans, right?_ _ And as always, thanks to **Jini **for fact checking me and being so encouraging in her reviews when she does :D_

Chapter 6:

He was helping her move into her apartment when the messenger showed up. He'd taken his responsibility as her guardian seriously and, even if he was supposed to be kitsune-seduced, he didn't want to have to share his living space to do it. The building he lived in had several empty apartments and the landlord had been more than willing to fill one of them, especially at Minato's request. Known for being consistent, clean and quiet, Minato suspected the man automatically assumed anyone he would recommend would be the same.

If it had occurred to the fox that she should be in his apartment instead of her own, she gave no outward sign. Instead she seemed delighted with having her own 'den' and chirped, huffed, and bounded around the small rooms so cheerfully he felt a little guilty he hadn't found her something larger with a better view. This kept her near him where he could keep an eye on her though. Hopefully that meant out of trouble as well.

That part at least remained to be seen.

They had left the front door of the apartment propped open and he'd coaxed Umino to help them move the small pieces of furniture he'd managed to find for her on the occasions he'd left the hospital she'd been unconscious in to go home and shower and change. He'd suspected she'd be permanent. Or at least a very long form of temporary.

It might turn out longer than he'd at first thought. She certainly hadn't even started whatever was supposed to pass for a fake seduction. Watching her huff amusement with Umino and dance around the rooms… he wondered if she was in any hurry.

"Namikaze-san?"

He had already been aware of the feeling of someone new in the area so he turned without surprise to find a Chunin standing just outside the doorway in the hallway. He left the fox and Umino trying to find the optimal position for the bed that would allow it to be in the sunlight for the longest period of time and walked over to the man.

"We've found another shinobi from the Whirlpool Country. The Hokage would like both you and Uzumaki-san to come to the hospital quickly."

"Are the Sannin back yet?" he asked after his teacher and the rest of that team that had gone to investigate the fox's story but the other man shook his head.

"One of the farmers found him in the river and brought him here. The medics say he's very bad."

"All right," Minato turned his head back toward the hysterical laughter that was now coming from the bedroom and whistled.

The fox peeked her head around the corner, a sheet around her shoulders and a second later Umino did the same, sheet over his head. Despite himself, Minato felt the edges of his lips rising and found he was smiling. He shook his head.

"Umino, can you finish up here? Kushina and I need to see the Hokage."

Grinning, Umino pushed the sheet off his head so it fell around his shoulders.

"Sure, Namikaze. I think I can handle an S-rank mission like that."

Again, a smile threatened the edges of Minato's lips and he nodded. His little fox abandoned her sheet and bounced over to where he was, giving the Chunin in front of him a pleased smile. And then, since Minato's back was still toward her, she put her hands on his shoulders and vaulted up. He shifted his eyes backward but otherwise refused any facial expressions and she draped her arms over his shoulders and snugged her thighs over his hips. He'd carried enough wounded teammates that way and his body had automatically shifted to balance her extra weight. The Chunin in front of them looked a little surprised but she was making her happy, chuffing noises and so Minato just gave the other man a blank, questioning look. Considering his own off balance with them, far be it from him to expect someone else to understand foxy ways. With an all but visible mental shrug and a nod, the Chunin turned and headed down the stairs. Minato, tucking hands under the fox's knees after he'd scooped up the vest he'd taken off to help move things, followed suit.

"Where are we going?" the fox asked after a minute and Minato realized she must know where the main buildings were because they were headed in the opposite direction of the Hokage's office. He was fairly sure he hadn't mentioned them to her himself but her knowledge didn't surprise him. She'd taken his vest from him and her fingers shook it lightly at him now.

"Hospital," he answered and when she started to shift threateningly, he added: "Not for you. A farmer brought in a man. They think he's from your village."

She went very still and very silent against him then and he didn't blame her. If she was the real Kushina, the news would have been a blow of both hope and yet despair, a tug war between who she hoped it would be and knowing that one would never equal the number of people she hoped for. For them however… it made things a little more complicated. Because if the man did recover he'd know the real Kushina. And Minato thought there were far too many ways a fox in woman's form would give herself away to someone like that. He would survive without suspicion if she was exposed as a fraud, the way she'd arrived made that easy. But it was easier for him to act seduced, whenever she was going to get around to that, if she was nearby and he didn't have to keep sneaking out into the woods to meet her. Yes, he was willing to pretend he was fox-seduced and follow it all the way into her grandfather's library. It would be much more difficult if he had to sneak around to do it though.

They arrived at the hospital and he let go of her legs, waiting until she'd slid down the back of him and steadied on her own feet before he turned his head over his shoulder to look at her. Her brows were down and her lips were tense but those could easily be the reactions of a survivor of the Whirlpool Country about to meet an unknown member of her village. She did hand him his vest however and gave him a quick smile. Her eyes weren't frightened.

He supposed foxes didn't frighten much easier than shinobi. Together they followed the Chunin down a different hallway than Minato had gotten used to pacing and the other man tapped lightly on the door to one of the rooms before pushing it open. He stood to the side and let them go in while he remained behind. Minato couldn't help the way that simple gesture tightened the muscles in his back and across his shoulders, reeking of a laid trap. The Hokage was in the room already though and Minato trusted him. So he stepped in and the fox followed on his heels, leaning to try to see around his shoulder and get a look at the form on the bed. The Hokage had looked up when the door had opened and he gave them a smile now. Minato caught the edge of his fox's face and saw she had a little girl's large eyes.

Even he would have probably fallen for them.

"Hokage-sama?" she asked softly and Minato frowned and looked down. It was a vulnerable voice, a favorite granddaughter's voice, and it bothered him to hear it.

"It's all right, my dear. He's sleeping safely now. But I hoped you could tell me who he is?" The older man held out a hand and she came forward around Minato and took it in both of hers, hanging on as she leaned a little forward and peered at the form, and face, hidden in white sheets and bandages on the bed. Minato stayed where he was and watched impassively.

Until she jerked back with a sharp inhale, hair flicking forward like a tail as her body recoiled. That reaction was enough to draw him forward a step before he stopped himself and let her act out whatever it was she was doing. She tucked her chin and took several small steps back but seemed to have forgotten she was still holding the Hokage's hand.

"That's Kurosawa Katsu." They both waited but she didn't offer anything more – and she didn't let go of the Hokage's hand.

"He's from your village," the Hokage prodded gently and she nodded, eyes still on the form in the bed.

"Yes," she agreed faintly. "From just a few streets over."

Very gently the Hokage laid a hand over where both of hers still clutched his.

"You don't seem very pleased to see him…"

"oh… oh!" she shook her head and pulled up a smile. Minato thought she faked fake smiles very well. "I'm sure he's fine. I mean – he survived, yes? So… maybe he's not the only one." Her shoulders straightened a little and she added a bit more sure. "Perhaps he can tell us who did this to my village."

The man on the bed stirred when her voice steadied and she took an unintentional step back. She looked… shaken, and, even acting, Minato found he didn't like his fox seeming that way.

"I'm going to wait outside," she decided. "I don't want to disturb him." She looked over at the man next to her and asked with a thread of the little girl in her voice. "Is that all right, Hokage-sama?"

The older man nodded and smiled.

"Yes. I think that's fine. Let me keep Namikaze a little bit longer and then I'll send him back out to you."

"Yes," she agreed, smile notably clearer and she looked at Minato to include him in it. "That would be nice."

The Hokage waited until the door shut firmly behind her to walk over to the bed and look down at the form in it. Minato walked over to join him, standing at his shoulder and looked down as well. The man was on the large size but not by much. Face battered and hollow looking it was hard to see anything threatening about it but Minato knew looks were supposed to be deceiving.

"She's afraid of him," the Hokage stated thoughtfully and Minato hummed his assent. "And apparently it's personal. She didn't do anything to try to get us to restrain him or his movements once he recovers."

"Will he recover?" Minato asked without emotion and the Hokage continued to look thoughtfully down at the patient.

"Perhaps," the older man finally answered. "Perhaps."

Minato found the fox in the waiting room and she was happily chattering with one of the nurses. When she saw Minato, she broke off to wave something at him.

"Look, look! They kept it! I thought I'd lost it!"

Interior lighting glinted off of metal and he recognized the forehead protector he'd been shown after they'd first brought her here. She sounded as excited and thrilled as if it really was the symbol of her status as well as her village and when she turned to hug the nurse, the emotion certainly seemed real.

"Missed it, I missed it. Thank you!"

She was still making her pleased chirping sounds softly to herself as they left the building and twirling the cloth of the headband between her long fingers. He reached out and turned its identifying plate over to get a better look at the wiggly, swirling symbol at its center. A sudden thought struck him.

"Was it hers? The other Kushina?"

"Yes," she looked up at him when she said it and her eyes were full of light. "The very best thing she ever gave me. She was so pleased with it." She buried her nose in the fabric. "I can still smell her. She was good."

His mouth had softened at her enthusiasm and the edges of his lips were hooked upward but then he sobered.

"What about Kurosawa?"

The look of joy slid off her face and she exhaled in annoyance through her nose.

"He was not good."

"You really know him?"

"No," she reached back to tie the cloth around her throat loosely, metal plate at the front. He wondered, abstractly, if that was for when she turned into a fox and then wondered what happened to her clothes when she shifted between forms. He had yet to see her naked but he didn't think he'd seen her directly after a change either though.

"Kushina knew him," she drew him from his speculation and he looked back at her as she trotted next to him. "He – scared her. Quietly. As if she wasn't sure why but he did anyway."

"I'll take care of him."

His emotionless statement had her lifting her eyes to look at him and that gold narrowed, just a little. Reaching out her pale fingers found his arm.

"No."

He was ANBU. There was very little he shied away from doing these days. If she meant to spare him, his conscious or his soul from taint… it was far too late. If she shied from taking a life… he'd do it without her knowledge to spare her.

"He might be useful to us later," she answered and her gold eyes were as calm and emotionless as his face.

At his mild look, she tilted her head to meet his eyes. The gold of hers was neither laughing nor guilty nor saddened. He watched that for a long moment and then nodded, just once.

"All right," he agreed and she sniffed in return. The effervescence filled her eyes again and she fell back to skip next to him, catching his hand in both of hers. It made him smile, just the edges of his lips, but he also felt something shift, just a little, toward her inside himself. All because of what he'd seen in those calmly gold eyes. He moved his fingers, just a little, so that he could trap the edges of hers under them.

"Let's get something to eat," he suggested, leading her toward that district of town. She brightened even more at the suggestion. It was almost dinnertime anyway. He knew that if he were responsible he'd go back to her apartment and help Umino with anything that was left to do.

For some reason, he thought – he just felt like keeping her to himself for a little longer.

"You mean at one of the stands?" she asked, sounding excited and he swore, she would have wiggled. It made his smile spread a little more. So far she'd only known hospital food and his cooking. And he was already willing to admit that his cooking could be… repetitive. He'd only cooked for her twice so far though so he thought it was all right.

"There's a new ramen stand that just opened. I hear it's good."

She danced along next to him and the look of anticipation on her face made him think he'd made the right to decision to abandon Umino.

The stand was already brightly lit even though dusk was just starting to settle over things and its banners and cloth signs fluttered cheerfully as people went in and out. Minato ducked in first and his little fox came next with wide, watching eyes. He drew her over to the counter and took a seat and she released his hand to play on the stool she took next to him. A young man immediately trotted over to where they were and Minato ordered the house special. It seemed easier than trying to take the time to figure out what foxes might and might not like to eat. Though… given what he knew of their natural eating habits, he didn't think there was much she'd turn her nose up at.

It did bring up the interesting question of whether foxes tasted things the same way humans did and if hers changed from form to form or stayed the same.

At the moment, she was appreciatively sniffing the air as the smells from the open kitchen floated through the atmosphere of the stand.

"I like this," she told him and he felt, rising in him, a silent sound that might, once upon a time, have been laughter.

"You haven't eaten anything yet."

"No," she agreed cheerfully. "I like _this_." She had figured out how to swivel her stool and now she spread her arms, fingers wide, to dramatically embrace the whole room, turning her seat as she did so to make sure everything was included. He felt the unfamiliar sound lodging in his throat again and the edges of his lips twitched. She went on for him in case he hadn't noticed.

"I like the way it smells and how the air feels warm and a little bit wet and I like the places to hide under the little tables and where the cloth hangs down and I like the way the light is gold and warm and the ground feels clean and not greasy and the way it smells and I like the sounds the man in the kitchen makes and I like the way the boy smiles and I like the way it smells and I like these seats and how they spin and I like you sitting there next to me because you're solid and I like the counter because it feels nice to bump my toes against and I like the way it smells."

He cleared his throat to stop the sound that wanted out this time.

"So you're saying – " he asked, voice entirely serious, "you like the way this place smells?'

"I like the way this place smells," and even though she said it seriously he saw the way her eyes danced at him.

"I like the way it smells too," he agreed.

Two large bowls, both steaming, were placed in front of them and Minato picked up his chopsticks. He waited though. He wanted to watch his little fox.

Her eyes slit when the bowl was put in front of her but they were slits of golden pleasure and she leaned forward so that the steam, when it rose, moved over her face. Her smile went mellow and a little bit lazy and then she opened her eyes and found her chopsticks as well. The noodles were obviously new to her though and she played with how to get to them best for a minute before raising her head and turning, first to him, and then, when he was no help, to look at a man down at the end of the counter. She watched him eat for a moment of contemplative silence and then returned to her own noodles, tilting the bowl and repeating what she'd just seen.

He wondered how many human skills she had that were merely repetitions of what she'd watched others do.

The second the noodles were in her mouth though, she froze and for a second he thought she'd burned her tongue because they were too hot. Then her eyes slid shut and her body sank, just a little in her seat, before…

He watched in fascination as she actually shivered in obvious pleasure.

For some strange reason, even as it made him smile, he wished he'd been touching her so he could have felt that shiver.

She made a little whimpering sound in her throat – and that was the last he saw of her face as she lifted the bowl and began to devour it's contents. He cleared his throat against the sound that tried to rise out of his chest and turned his attention on his own meal. Which was, he had to admit, pretty damn good.

"Wow," the young man was in front of them again as she set her bowl down and exhaled in happy pleasure. "That's the kind of enthusiasm we like. You want another bowl?"

"Oh yes!" her answer was so fast it was as if she was worried he might change his mind and she only caught herself and glanced at Minato after she'd already blurted it. He couldn't help the smile and he shook his head at her.

"Eat as much as you want."

It was all the permission she needed and she was on her third bowl when he finally finished his first. He wondered where, in her miniscule frame, she was putting it all and remembered, with an almost guilty twinge, that she always ate everything he put in front of her, even if he'd never thought to offer more and she'd never asked for it. Perhaps it took a great deal of energy to use fox magic.

"Don't you feed her, Namikaze?"

Minato turned to the man that had come up next to him and shrugged.

"No."

Next to him the fox made a chuffing noise and then set down her third empty bowl.

"He hasn't fed me since lunch," she complained with a grin and, as he'd noticed before, the sight of her smile had the large man next to him smiling too.

"Your son did me a favor today, Akimichi. I would ask that you thank him for me," Minato said and the large man grinned wider.

"He's is a good boy," he stated proudly. "He's going to grow up to be a great shinobi. Though," here he smiled at the fox. "Even he doesn't eat as much as you."

"Have you tasted this?" she asked, holding the bowl in both hands to gesture with it. "It's _very good_."

Akimichi laughed and it was poured up out of his belly.

"You think that's good? You need to try the barbecue one block over."

"Really?"

Minato knew that tone and inwardly he sighed even as he prepared himself for a long night. Akimichi's eyes sparked.

"Really," he agreed. "If you've still got room for it."

"Oh yes," she was quick to assure him. "Lots."

"Namikaze?"

"Someone's going to have to roll you two home at the end."

"Excellent!" Akimichi was already plotting food stands in his head from the look in his eyes and the little fox was right next to him as he rumbled out of the ramen stand. She did turn her head though and promise the young man behind the counter:

"I'll be back!"

"She will too," Minato agreed, voice low and indulgent, as he counted out the money to pay for it. The young man pushed some of it back.

"Two bowls," he smiled. "The rest were for the pure pleasure of watching her enjoy them."

Minato's lips curved but he took back the returned money and thanked the man. Then he turned and easily followed Akimichi and the fox on their rampage through the food district of the village.


	7. Chapter 7

_wow, looks like our story views are starting to pick up. Huzzah! Always encouraging. Most encouraging though are my best beloveds ie - my reviewers. so a happy new year to all and lets get down to it. **weehoo107** - your review made me grin like the village idiot. Mostly you'll be dealing with Iruka's parents but he'll probably show up in kid form at some point. Sometimes, reading the manga, I get the impression he's the only sane character in a village of eccentrics. Always made me have sympathy for him ;) and yeah - heh - couldn't resist the ramen implications. As for your list of demands - that's why I was grinning. Hopefully Minato will, at some point, give away a bit more about his childhood but he hasn't so far to me. He's being very stoic about it and possibly repressed or perhaps just controlled. I suspect he's compartmentalized his past. I'm kind of waiting to see when it finally pops out of him - but at this point I'm still waiting. As for laughter, I'll put that in Kushina's corner and see what she can do with it. ;) I should put the lemon in her corner and see what she can do with it too but I think Minato might protest. I don't write straight up lemons. This is however a mature story and I'm not going to fluffy bear or pink ponies things. Tell you what, after I post up chapter 9, you tell me how I do, okay? and in the meantime - talk away! Getting reviews like yours makes my day and motivates me to do more. **mc** - yes, the little fox is very sense oriented, isn't she? I'm pretty sure Minato doesn't mind. She also seems to have solved the cupboard stocking situation in this chapter. Looks like there will be fox paws in a lot of things from this point on. ;) and aren't we all looking forward to it. You're right though - the Bleach and Naruto universes are HUGE and this is why I only dabble at the edges of them. We have fun while we dabble though, don't we? **sammy-zee** - romance? what romance? Minato hasn't noticed any romance! lol and it is certainly NOT continuing in this chapter. At all. In the slightest. **cholericDolphin** - yes, Minato knows not the can of worms (or fox) he's opened up. Yet. He doesn't realize it yet. One can only hope a man with his intelligence figures it out eventually though. Then again, he is a guy... lol And yeah, our Whirlpool stranger - I have no idea where he came from. Leaves me just as curious as I write to find out what's going on with him as everyone else. And **velo **- wow, your review was awesome. Yeah, Minato thinks he's got it all figured out, doesn't he? he's such a clever guy, surely he'd realize if the little fox started seducing him. Sucker - lol. I don't know, it's kind of fun watching such an intelligent guy hopelessly clueless about something. Would he kill to keep her safe? Yes. Without hesitation, guilt, or second thoughts. He's ANBU, the special ops of the village. He's used to finding threats and making sure they're not threats anymore. Whether he realizes it with the front of his mind or not, he considers the fox under his protection on the same level that his village is and he hasn't been trained to do things in half measures when it comes to keeping them safe. When he gets sent out on a mission, its usually because they're past the diplomatic solution. (also, if English isn't your first language, you've got an amazing grasp of its nuances. You write beautifully and very intelligently - and now I'm self-conscious about all my grammar mistakes) as for my regular updates - I will certainly always try. It means a lot to me that people notice and appreciate that.** tagwenielwestwing** - hey, and welcome to the party! get comfortable and hang on :D heh - Minato pick up on that? He's still waiting for her to start seducing him. Not that he wants her to, mind you. Not that it bothers him that she's not. Not that he's starting to obsess over that obvious lack at all. lol - just because we recognize the names doesn't mean he does ;) And as always, thanks to **Jini **for fact checking me and enjoying so completely how much Minato is already changing around Kushina and not even realizing it.  
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Chapter 7:

"How much did you eat?" he asked as he guided her back toward her apartment.

"A lot," she answered weakly. He shook his head at her and gave up, scooping her up into his arms to carry her the rest of the way.

"I don't think I've ever seen an Akimichi passed out under a table from being out-eaten before," he commented and she chuffed her pleasure.

"It was all so _good_."

"I saw."

"It was nice of you to bring something back for Umino."

"He'll have gone home by now but it'll keep until he comes over the next time. Which I assume will be tomorrow."

"I like him. He's good."

"Yes," Minato agreed as he pushed open the door to the building and headed for the stairs. "Umino is one of the best."

"Why don't you call him by his first name?"

"I don't call anyone their first name."

"You call me by my first name when you're talking around others. And you call Mikoto by her first name."

"Mikoto is a childhood friend. You're… you're supposed to be seducing me."

"I'm not?"

"No, little fox," it brought out a quiet smile. "You're not."

"But you like me anyway."

"I like you anyway."

She made a pleased, humming noise and snuggled down more into his arms, hands tucked up near her chin, as he dug out her apartment key and worked the lock, still balancing her against him.

"Why don't you call Umino his first name?"

She apparently wasn't letting it go and he used a shoulder to flick on the light switch as he stepped into her sparse apartment and shut the door with his heel. It locked automatically. He'd made sure she had a door that locked automatically when it shut. Not that it would stop someone that was determined, but it would slow them down, at least by a second or two. Sometimes… that second or two was all you needed.

"I don't know him well enough."

"He's your friend."

"I – " he hesitated for the first time and did his customary scan of the room. "I suppose he is."

"Then you should call him by his first name. It will make him feel good."

"He told you?" he somehow doubted that and she shook her head as he carried her into the bedroom.

"No. He just feels that way."

He made a non-committal noise and gently lowered her onto the neatly made bed. Umino had done a good job. The apartment, despite the mess moving had made, was spotless. And all the closet doors and other places someone could hide had been left open and exposed. Maybe… maybe he should acknowledge that he thought of the man as a friend.

The little fox rolled over on the bed and sighed out in contentment. Minato brushed a hand over her hair and straightened.

"Go to sleep, little fox. Sleep off your gluttony. I'll come for you in the morning."

"S'not gluttony," she murmured, face half buried in a pillow already. "Eat when you can… s'against starving times. Winter… when it's all hollow inside you… Mice in their nests, frogs in their mud… nothing to eat but snow…"

She sighed out and curled around the pillow and he pulled the blanket that was folded at the foot of the bed over her. Leaning over to make sure her window was locked he left her keys on the table next to the bed and let himself out. He paused for a long time in the hallway before rousing himself and making his way to his own bed two stories up.

He'd been through a lot in his life. Starving every winter hadn't been a part of that…

He took his shower and ran his fingers through his hair afterward. Trying to do anything with the shaggy blond strands was fairly useless and he didn't have the time or attention to get it cut as often as he probably should. Now it sent cold drops down across his chest and back though and he reminded himself he should, at some point, visit a barber. Pulling on a pair of loose pants, he made his way to his own bed after finishing getting ready for the night and opened his windows. The cool night air washed into the room and he exhaled in contentment. True, it wasn't the view of Konoha that you could get from the Hokage's office or apartment but it was still a good view of the village and it never stopped that small warmth of pleasure in his chest to see it. He loved this place. For a long minute, he rested his palms on the windowsill and looked out. Then he pushed away and settled down into his own bed.

Today had been a long day, he thought as he closed his eyes. And yet, as he folded his hands over his stomach and let his body begin to unwind, he found himself smiling to himself. Because… it had been a good day. A – really good day. He had a strange warm feeling in his chest even now. It felt a little like contentment.

He should call Umino by his first name…

Something soft landed on his bed and he opened his eyes, surprised to find none of his automatic physical defenses had kicked in and sent him halfway across the room with a blade in his hand. He saw delicate fox paws and, raising his eyes, saw red fur, gold eyes and a black nose lowered close to his face.

"Fox," his voice came out throaty and he wondered if he'd fallen asleep and not realized it. "What are you doing?"

In answer, the nose lifted and he felt almost immediately after, the thud of little paws against his chest and stomach as the animal climbed up onto him and proceeded to circle. With a quiet huff, it settled, curling up on his chest, nose tucking under its tail. He shifted a hand to rest in the fur of its curved back and it let out a little sigh and snuggled in closer. He made a low noise in his throat and shut his eyes again.

As seductions went, she had this one entirely wrong. She should be trying to be a naked woman in his bed, not a tiny, furry fox. There was no way she could be that confused with as many seductions as she'd probably already performed. The only thing he could think of was that she obviously wasn't bothering to try.

He would have rebuffed her anyway. He'd do what was necessary to make it look as if he were fox-seduced but he had no intention of becoming that way. His body was nothing more than yet another tool in his arsenal but his mind and his heart were his alone and he had no intention of being stupid enough to lose either one. Absent his fingers scratched gently through her soft fur.

Apparently she wasn't interested in trying for them. He was surprised to find that it annoyed him, just a little. He'd expected her to try to seduce him anyway, just for the fun of it, just because she was a fox, just because he already knew her well enough to know she enjoyed teasing him. Instead she treated him the way she did and… and that wasn't with fluttering eyelashes and 'accidentally' showing skin and various trite actions designed to make a man's mind wander toward sex.

In fact, Umino had been the one in her bedroom helping her set up her bed. He frowned, just a little, at the thought. She seemed to really like Umino too. She'd even gone so far as to label him 'good'.

He agreed with her, of course. Umino was 'good'. One of the most purely 'good' people he knew. Just –

why hadn't she wanted him to get familiar with her bed and moving it, instead of having Umino help? It hadn't even occurred to him at the time to wonder about it, or volunteer. In fact, he couldn't even remember who had teamed them up to move the bed while he brought in the kitchen table and chairs. Had he? Had one of them?

Umino was married with a young son - but he didn't remember foxes ever caring about that kind of thing in the legends…

The fox sleeping on his chest huffed out a sigh and tiny fox feet started to twitch. It distracted him and the edges of his lips loosened. Dreaming of chasing rabbits? What did foxes who wore human form dream of when they dreamed? He rubbed her back absently and she made little chirping noises of pleasure even while her paws continued to twitch. A good dream then…

As foxy seductions went, his was obviously lacking. But that was the way he wanted it anyway, wasn't it? He'd work much better with her if he wasn't constantly worrying about her trying to jump him. It would be less of a distraction too once they were allowed into her grandfather's house. He liked the way she was with him now. She made him… she made him happy. The realization loosened the muscles he hadn't known were tense and he relaxed, fingers still moving absently through fox fur.

He was happy when he was around her. That was better than seduction.

The thought stayed with him and when he woke up in the morning, he felt surprisingly rested.

He was going on two weeks without dreaming. He suspected fox magic and he wasn't about to complain.

She was still on his chest, ribs rising and falling, and a low, sighing noise emanating from her with each exhale. It was… it was a cute sound and it made the edges of his lips twitch. His hand was still on her and he could feel her heartbeat against his palm. Where her body rested against his skin was also warm and in the vague chill of the early morning air, it was a good feeling, drowsy and content. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, simply enjoying the way this moment felt for a little while longer.

Fox fur was a surprisingly pleasant texture against skin.

With a silent exhale, he gently picked her up and shifted her onto a pillow. She made a protesting noise but didn't open her eyes and in his hands, she was completely limp. That made him smile too and he made sure she was comfortable before rolling over and standing up. She made a noise behind him and he turned to look over his shoulder. She'd slipped off the pillow and was now curled in the warm hollow his body had left in the mattress. He turned away, smiling. Again.

She still hadn't stirred by the time he'd finished cleaning up and getting dressed for the morning and he wondered if all the energy she burned with her constant swing of emotions and physical vibrancy required long hours of sleep as well. He didn't know much about foxes but he seemed to remember that dogs would, given the opportunity, sleep pointlessly for hours on end whether their lifestyle seemed to require it or not. Perhaps foxes were the same.

Who on earth would he ask to find out?

He was just in the process of realizing he was going to have to buy more eggs and soon, when he heard a knock at his door. It was early yet for Umino to be checking up on him and seeing if he needed any more help and the rapping was too soft for that anyway. It was the kind of knock that indicated you weren't sure you wanted anyone to hear it and he padded silently over to the door on bare feet, curious as to who would be up before dawn and visiting.

The door opened inward and he blocked it with his foot automatically as he stood to the side and pulled it open after unlocking it. He didn't expect any assassination attempts, not in the village itself and certainly not on himself, but paranoia was a way of life for ANBU. Or at least for any ANBU that expected to survive long.

"Minato-kun…"

Mikoto's pale face surprised him and what surprised him even more was the puffiness around her red-rimmed eyes. It roused his concern but he also felt the stir of something much darker that he did his best to keep hidden. His voice gave nothing away however as he stepped aside to let her in.

"Mikoto."

She sniffed and hesitantly crept into his apartment, large dark eyes looking around in curiosity despite the tears. While she took in his apartment for the first time, he ran his eyes intently over her. He didn't see any bruising or abrasions –

That didn't mean they weren't there. Other than the burns on his forearms and wrists, none of his scars were in places that would show either.

"Sit down," he told her, voice mild and she found her way to the kitchen chair while he went back to the stove and set the water to heat for tea. He didn't offer anything else and for the entire time it took for the water to heat and him to pour it into the mugs along with the tea packets, she didn't say anything either. He set one of the cups down in front of her and then wrapped his fingers around his own as he sat down in the chair across from her.

She sipped her tea delicately and then finally raised her damp eyes to his.

"Minato-kun – " she started and then she seemed to shrink in her chair and she looked back down at her drink. He made a low sound to show he was listening and she inhaled a shaky breath and swallowed.

"Do you…" she began again. "Do you ever wish… that things were… different?"

He hummed a vague sound and her eyes flickered to him before going back down to the drink in front of her.

"I mean – did you… did you ever want to change the way something was. So that – so that it could turn out differently?"

He wondered if there was anyone in the world that didn't but instead he just nodded and then took a sip of his tea, patient and willing to wait until she had worked around to her point. She turned the cup on the table in front of her with just the tips of her fingers and watched its movements.

"Minato-kun… do you think," she inhaled. "Do you think tradition is more important than what a person wants? Than what a person feels?"

He folded his hands loosely together and propped his elbows on the table so that he could rest his mouth against the side of his fingers, brows down.

"I think tradition is important," he began slowly. "I think in some cases, it's so important because it makes sure our emotions aren't allowed to get in the way of what we need to do. But I don't think tradition is sacred. I think there are times it doesn't serve the purpose it once did and it's time to let it go." He raised his eyes to look at her, voice still as inflectionless as ever. "Mikoto… is this about Uchiha Fugaku?"

She blinked her eyes and pressed her lips together in a heart-broken smile.

"Yes. And no. It's about… someone else. I don't – I don't love Fugaku. I love – " her eyes met his and filled with tears. Her voice was a broken whisper. "I love someone else, Minato-kun. I always, always have. And now I'm going to have to marry Fugaku. He's – he's not a bad man. He's kind and gentle with me and I think he cares for me a great deal. I just – " she choked off and buried her face in her hands. "I wish I could be with someone else. I so, so wish I could be with someone else."

He didn't have a reaction for her and a small part of him suddenly wondered why it was taking his fox so long to come out of the bedroom. There was no sound from the other room though and a larger part of him was glad. Mikoto didn't need the embarrassment of being emotional in front of a stranger. He knew it was already hard enough for her to be this way with him.

Feeling a little awkward he pushed a napkin across the table toward her and she took it with a watery smile of gratitude and used it to blot at her swollen eyes.

"What are you going to do?" he asked softly after a long moment and she shook her head, dark hair swaying.

"Marry Fugaku, I suppose. It's tradition and it will please my parents. He's not a bad man. I know he'll take care of me and care about me. I – I suppose I'll try to forget my love." Her shoulders shook and she buried her face in her hands again. "But it hurts. It hurts loving him and not being able to tell him."

Minato pushed her mug of tea a little closer to her and she took it with a nod and sipped the contents.

"I don't know how to help you, Mikoto," he admitted gently. Her eyes crept up from the rim of the mug and, almost shyly, looked at him.

"Would you – would you change things with… with me? If you could?"

His eyes locked with hers and he went very still. Once upon a time… as children, he'd thought….

But that had been long ago and his heart had gotten too shriveled and scarred since then.

"If I could change it so you would love someone you could marry, then yes, Mikoto, I would change things for you if I could."

"I see…" her voice was very small and she lowered her eyes back to her tea. He did the same and then lifted it to swallow down some of the bitter liquid. She finished hers and stood up.

"I should go," she offered and he left his tea and stood as well, simply nodding. He followed her to the door and she hesitated in front of it.

"I – thank you, Minato-kun. For… for being here for me…"

"I'm your friend," he meant it with what was left of his heart. "I will always be here for you, Mikoto."

"yes…" her voice was sad and lost but she nodded and quietly opened the door. "Thank you…"

He watched her until she took the turn in the stairwell and disappeared. Then he shut the door and went back to the kitchen to find his fox, in her human form, sitting in his chair. Her hands were around his mug in mimic of the way his had been moments ago and she looked up at him. The gold of her eyes was very burnished and ancient though. When he met them with his own, she unfolded from the chair and slipped over to wrap her arms around him and nudge at his throat and the underside of his jaw with the top of her nose. Without understanding quite why, it helped, just a little, and he loosely wrapped his arms around her in return and exhaled. Her teeth nipped his throat, barely there and it made the edge of his mouth shift tiredly upward. He responded, tightening his arms around her a little more and shut his eyes, lowering his head to rest his cheek against her fox soft hair.

He'd given up pieces of himself all his life in order to survive. Lost little bits and edges of who he was in order to become something that wouldn't break, that wouldn't bow. To become a man that wouldn't fall, no matter what came at him. It had cost him though. Somewhere along the way it had cost him whatever part of himself had been gentle enough and kind enough to love a woman as soft and delicate as Mikoto.


	8. Chapter 8

_**weehoo107** - heh, I like melodramatic reviewers. It makes me smile and that counts for a lot to me. I've done my best to give our Kushina some more screen time this chapter to make up for last ;) Pizza? did you bring enough for everyone? and yeah, I try to make Minato as self-aware as possible as clueless as he is in one particular area. I think he's much better at seeing what's wrong with himself, than what's right. And - lol - I think 'the plot chickenz' is going to have to become our group catch phrase for this story. **mc **- you caught me. I always update my new stories and ideas in my LiveJournal before I put them up here. Including new chapters of Vermillion. Kind of a trial run/sneak peek type of thing ;) and - as far as I'm concerned you imagine Minato anyway that works when it comes to appearance. He rarely thinks of the way he looks so I doubt that will be getting in the way much. Though the more I see pictures of him the more I suspect he wears his hair shaggy in the front to hide his ears - lol. I may have to have Kushina crack on him about that eventually. And yeah... happy vs. seduction. Minato doesn't seem to get that the two can be tied together. Maybe he's concentrating on the wrong aspect of seduction. **velo** - so glad you're along for this ride. Yes, Minato's got a way of saying things that are just an opening for future mockery, doesn't he? No wonder Kushina spends so much of her time snickering. You're right, he's not the best when it comes to social situations. Years of self-imposed exile from it, I'd suspect. That and whatever his childhood did to him. I think one of the reasons Kushina found her way into his life so easily is that he doesn't see her as human and so his defenses are down in certain areas regarding her. Touch for instance ;) **crazylikeanko** - welcome to the party! and yeah - heh - you've caught my kryptonite. I'm bad when it comes to catching my own typos. Once I've written something I've got the idea in my head of what it says so when I read back over it, my mind automatically fills in any mistakes I've made. I try to slow down and read it word by word but then I get caught up in the story and -pffft - yeah, that goes out the window. If I ever do this for actual profit I'm really going to have to hire an editor. Particularly for my fragment and run on sentences ;) **cholericdolphin** - ahhh, poor Mikoto. Yeah, originally I'd intended her to be much more of a problem. The expected 'other woman' that wasn't going to let go easily. But her and Minato just wouldn't write that way. I think the friendship went a little too deep and I think they knew each other a little too well. Instead of 'annoying' we got 'tragically sad' and I think I like that better. Especially if you consider who she's going to end up the mother of. come over for a hug, no sitting depressed in the corner. Sometimes situations have a way of popping up and surprising you so that your life takes a turn you never expected but it's better than you could have expected anyway. I'm counting on that for you. In the meantime, more MinaKushi snuggliness coming up as ordered! **premium audrey** - Awwww. ;) and pull up a chair and get comfortable. I think we'll have to start serving hot cocoa soon if this weather keeps up. and as always - **jini **- my fact checker and all around encourager. Despite his cluelessness with Kushina, I didn't want him to be clueless entirely. I think he pays attention to the people around him - which may be why he's missing what's going on with Kushina because he can't observe it from a comfortable distance the way he's used to. I think Mikoto's always been precious to him and I was surprised and really pleased with the delicate way their relationship seems to play out. They both seem very restrained and yet that seems to almost become a form of communication between them. I can't see Minato treating her roughly but I can't see him not dealing with the situation straight forwardly. His 'soft voice, decisive action' personality, I suspect ;) _

Chapter 8:

There was… something odd about having a kitsune in your life, Minato decided after the third day of her company. Somehow… it wasn't at all what he'd expected from the folklore and vague legends he only half remembered.

Oh, the mischief was definitely there. She certainly didn't disappoint and, after he waded to the edge of the river and pulled himself out onto the shore after what appeared to be one of her spontaneous tricks, he had to admit, the kitsune stories he remembered hadn't done the 'mischief' part of kitsune nature justice. She waved to him from the railing of the bridge she was balanced on and then somehow convinced him that the only sensible thing to do now wasn't to go home and change into dry clothes but rather to lie on his back in the grass near the water and let the sun dry him off. He relented because she was so pleased with herself; because he was feeling vaguely lost without a mission to plan for or recover from; and… well, she did it herself after he finally caught her and tossed her in the water as well. Hands relaxed behind his head, kitsune curled up on her side next to him, he indulged her and made up stories about what shapes the clouds were and what that meant. Her chuffing noises relaxed the edges of his mouth and pulled the corners upward.

No, the mischief had definitely been under-played in the fairy tales. It was the whole 'benevolent/goddess-match/spiritual/heart-stealingly beautiful/elegant/ethereal magic…. transience' that the stories seemed to have wrong. Or his little fox had wrong. Because… she wasn't transient. Or ethereal. Or even achingly beautiful. She was – foxy. With her gold laughing eyes and her long clever fingers and her exuberance. She reminded him of a child that had grown up without having to give up childhood. She felt… solid. In his soul, she felt solid. _Real_. As real as he was. As real – more real than most everyone else in his life.

He rolled over on his side to face her and she imitated him, pale fingers curled near her chin. Her hair was heart-blood red when it was wet and it ran over her pale arms that her top – and he _still_ thought it was a napkin, not a shirt – revealed like dark strands of river-weeds. Absent, he reached out to begin picking its long strands off of her skin and moving them back to their mates against her back.

"Why do you look the way you look?" he asked, propping one arm under his head as he realized fixing her hair was going to take some time. She made an expression with her face that mostly involved her nose and blinked cheerfully at him.

"It's the way I look."

He searched for the right words.

"Do you look like the other Kushina?"

She blinked again and if he hadn't been watching her so closely, he might have missed the sadness that ghosted through her eyes for a split second.

"Mostly."

"How 'mostly'?"

She rubbed her nose against the side of her shoulder and then frowned.

"Same hair. Same nose. Same eyes. Same height."

"She had gold eyes?"

She chirped a pleased sound and unfolded her fingers to reach out and tap his nose. If she'd been mobile she would have nipped it and he recognized it as a move that said he'd pleased her though he couldn't imagine how.

"Same shaped eyes. Only you see my real eyes. Everyone else thinks they're green. Sometimes gray. The little differences, like the shape of my chin or how round my cheeks are. When they look at me, they all expect to see Kushina, so Kushina is what they see."

"Even Kurosawa?"

Her eyes squinted a little and she reached up to scratch by her ear for a moment.

"At first. If I act as she did. The more I am not what he expects the less he will see what he wants to see when he looks at me."

He still wasn't sure he didn't need to make sure the Whirlpool shinobi didn't become a threat but he was willing, at the moment, to be patient. Besides… it would be suspicious if the man died while still in the hospital.

"Why aren't you – beautiful?" he asked for lack of a better word to use. Her eyes went huge in response.

"What?" For that single second, she sounded entirely like a human woman and it suddenly occurred to him that – perhaps – he should have asked a different question.

"I mean – " he wasn't used to having to backtrack his words. "All the stories talk about how unearthly a kitsune woman's beauty is. You don't look… unnatural. Like that."

She batted at his hand that had frozen, a strand of her hair still in his fingers, the second he'd realized he might have overstepped his bounds with her. She made a face at him and, even not being made for human features, it was obvious she wasn't happy. Except – the color in her eyes was still laughing. Somehow, even on her side, she launched at him, just a little flurry and he caught at her wrists in self-defense once he realized she wasn't trying to punch him – she was poking him! And her fingers were sharp!

She was chuffing her pleasure when he finally managed to catch both of her wrists in his hands and he was on his back, her body straddling his. It made him blink because he hadn't noticed when they'd shifted that way and it wasn't the kind of position a man was likely to miss. His lips shifted down just a little and he realized that, not only had he been smiling – his teeth had actually been showing in a grin. She was resting a great deal of her weight in the trap of his hands and smiling down at him, looking immensely pleased.

"You're a bad man, Yondaime," she informed him pertly and the exhale of amusement escaped him before he thought to stop it.

"I just wanted to know if the face I'm looking at is really yours or if it's just the face you're wearing for me."

She leaned close, trusting him to support her with his hands on her forearms and her nose almost touched his. It blanketed them both in the curtain of her hair.

"This is me," she told him, eyes clear in the fiery twilight her hair created. "As much me as the fox form you sleep with each night. This is my human face when I am human. I can change it – but this one is mine. Kushina was my cousin."

It drew his attention away from the unusual fact that he could feel the soft puffs of her words against his own lips as she spoke.

"How?"

"Kitsune mate with humans as much as foxes. One of her great-great-grands was probably one of my mother's sisters. The blood was too thin for her to join us… but it remembered enough to know me and my sister when she saw us in the shrine there."

She sat back after she said it and tipped her head just a little to look down at him. Waiting patiently as he thought over the implications. He shifted his hips to get more comfortable with her sitting on him and realized, after he'd made the move, that he shouldn't have. Because she was more comfortable against him with that shift – but it wasn't the kind of comfortable he was… comfortable with. She didn't notice and so he decided it was safe, temporarily, to ignore.

"How old are you?"

"Four." She flashed the fingers wide as if she were spreading the pads of her paws, thumb tucked under.

"Four," he repeated and she nodded. "You don't look four."

"I do as a fox."

The edge of his mouth quirked.

"I thought kitsune weren't supposed to be able to shift to human form until they were a hundred and had several tails."

She made snorting, chuffing noises and her eyes slanted upward.

"That would be hard, since most of us are born in human form."

He gave a small smile at that as well.

"I suppose that would annoy your pregnant mothers, having to wait that long. How long do you live then?"

Her eyes went distant then and some of her smile faded. Absently, she rubbed her cheek against her shoulder again.

"Very old," she finally answered. "Unless we die first."

His hand let go of one of her wrists to reach out on its own and curve over her thigh. Where he knew the scar from the trap was. She nodded.

"We get killed a great deal. And giving birth isn't very safe for us. The males usually live longer but… there are hardly any of them. Ever. They… cost their mother a great deal to birth…"

"I'm sorry," he told her and was surprised to hear his voice actually reflect it. "About Kushina."

She exhaled and slumped forward to rest against his chest. He let go of her other hand to reach his arm over her and steady her there.

"She used to sneak fish into the offering rice balls," her voice was soft and a little muffled against him. "She would sing songs over and over again until I could sing them back. She would brush my fur with her hairbrush and tell me stories about golden shoes made of fish and ghosts without feet. She was good. I liked her."

"Are you sure she's dead?" he asked and she made a soft whining sound deep in her throat.

"We know before we die. Her blood was strong enough to tell her that much."

He wrapped both arms around her because, in that moment, she felt very small and fragile.

"You're not. Dying anytime soon. Are you?"

She wiggled deeper into him for comfort and answered:

"No."

And he realized… he wouldn't know if she was lying.

"Little fox?" he waited until she made a listening noise. "I – like your face."

Even through his vest, he felt her smile. It made something in him relax as well and his own lips loosened.

They were still lying that way when he felt and then heard the approach of someone else. The rhythm told him who it was and he greeted them without opening his eyes.

"Umino."

"You know," the shinobi sat down next to them and draped his arms over his raised knees. "Sane people have these things called 'beds'. In fact, I distinctly remember moving one into an apartment near here."

The fox chuffed her pleasure but didn't move otherwise and Minato didn't bother open his eyes.

"And be accused of being lazy for going to bed in the middle of the day?"

Umino chuckled next to him and relaxed onto his back, propping himself up on his elbows. For a long time, there was simply a comfortable silence between the three of them.

"Aki wants me to invite you both over for dinner," Umino finally offered. "She says she's tired of just hearing stories."

"You tell stories?" Minato's voice was inflectionless and he still didn't bother open his eyes. He could feel the other man's shrug.

"Got to tell her something when she wonders why I'm late coming home. And where I got the food from." He smiled and added: "Besides, she likes you, Namikaze. And she wants to have some gossip about you the way so many other women in the village seem to."

Minato did crack an eye open then and he ignored the smug humor the fox in his arms seemed to be radiating. He tipped his head to look at Umino.

"As much as I respect and admire your wife, why would anyone gossip about me?"

Umino was obviously smothering a smile.

"Well… the girls have always liked talking about you, Namikaze." Minato give him a dry look that waited for the punch line to that joke. Umino just smiled and shook his head. He gestured with a hand.

"Oh, face it. You've got a strange girl draped over you."

Minato blinked, face expressionless.

"She's seducing me," he intoned calmly and Umino made a noise in the back of his throat before breaking into a grin.

"I can't believe you can say that with such a straight face. You have to come to dinner now. Aki won't forgive me if you don't."

"Fine," Minato capitulated but it wasn't really a hard thing for him to do. He did like Umino's wife. She made him feel comfortable… and a bit as if he had suddenly developed an older sister who was two years younger and decidedly shorter. "We'll come to dinner at your house tonight, Takagi."

The other man looked over at him in surprise and Minato met his eyes calmly. Slow, he watched the smile spread into another grin.

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good. I'll tell Aki. She'll turn the house inside out for you. Minato."

Minato nodded and shut his eyes again, turning his face back to the sun. It wasn't his fault if the very edge of his mouth loosened and crept upward. Umino Takagi stood up after a minute more and ambled back off toward the village. The fox on Minato's chest waited until he was long gone before, sounding pleased, she stated:

"You made him very happy."

"It's just a name," Minato stated flatly, even if, strangely, using the man's first name had made him happy too. She huffed pleasantly against his chest. He was just starting to let his mind drift again, when her voice found him.

"Am I seducing you?"

The coughing sound filled the back of his throat and he smiled, raising a hand to stroke it over her now dry hair.

"Not very well," he answered.

She just made chirping noises against him and eventually dozed off.

Yes. Either all the legends and folklore had it wrong or his little fox did. He would have split the bet evenly on which one it was.

He just didn't understand, either way, why she didn't at least attempt it though. His fingers absently tangled in her hair. He was supposed to be fox-seduced. Why wasn't she at least pretending?

Was it another man – or fox? Someone who, even though she'd said she'd claim him as her lover before her grandfather, she would rather be with or held loyalty to first? Despite the scar on her leg, she didn't act like a woman that had been hurt by a man in the past. Maybe it was him… maybe she already knew the emotions a man would usually have had been burned out of him over the years.

She didn't seem to _dis_like his company.

Maybe she was just teasing him now by not doing what he expected, finding more pleasure in being the opposite of what he'd expected when they'd made their deal.

Maybe he was an idiot for letting it bother him, he decided with a scowl at himself. What they were doing seemed to be working for both of them. Why he was picking at it, he couldn't quite decide.

"Namikaze-san?"

He opened his eyes and rolled them upward, wondering if there was a banner posted over him he wasn't aware of. A Chunin was standing on the bank a bit higher up and from the stance, it was something official as well as important. Minato tapped his fingers on his fox's back and she rolled off of him as he sat up. She shifted over onto her stomach and propped her elbows under her to cup her face.

"Yes?"

"Sandaime Hokage sent me for you."

It straightened Minato's spine and he was already rising to his feet as he asked:

"Are the Sannin finally back?"

The other man shook his head.

"He says to bring your gear."

His face didn't give away the surprise but he felt it all the same. Bringing his 'gear' could only mean one thing. A mission. An ANBU mission. But he hadn't signed up for any since the fox had come into his protection and the Hokage seemed to have supported that decision.

Which meant it was something bad enough, or ugly enough, that he was one of the only ANBU that could pull it off. He nodded to the other man and his voice had lost all emotion.

"I'll be right there."

The other man nodded and disappeared. Minato turned to the curiously watching fox.

"It looks like you'll be going to Umino's house alone tonight."


	9. Chapter 9

_okay, I just have a weird feeling I should post this up early so I'm going to do it. Hope no one minds ;) for my best beloveds - **weehoo107** - I wish I knew the answer to that one. I have no idea how many chapters this is going to be though I'm counting on it not being anywhere near as long as my _Tales Within Tales_. So far I'm working through chapter 16 at the moment. It might have been shorter but characters keep insisting on introducing themselves and I haven't even gotten to some of the plot points I've already embedded in posted chapters. Hopefully it will be just right - not too long, not too short. I'll tell you when I find the end. meanwhile... the plot chickenz...** velo! **- yes, things get... er, serious in this chapter. Hopefully just the right amount of serious. The idea of Jiraiya hitting on Kushina almost made me laugh so hard I hurt and I just might have to swipe that idea from you for later chapters - (or a later one shot!)lol. Poor Minato. Poor Jiraiya! And yes, I think you've helped hit the nail on the head if Jiraiya is Minato's example of what 'seduction' is about. That's what he gets for being taught by the pervy sage. I'll also admit, I laughed myself when Minato popped out with the 'why aren't you beautiful' question. Trust me, that will come back to haunt him later. ;) ** jini! **- beloved fact checker! I think I'm getting attached to Umino too. I just needed filler but he's really making himself a spot. And I enjoyed working with the Kushina shifting image idea. It'll expand as we go, I'm hoping to give a good excuse by the end of why Naruto gets toasted turning into Kyuubi and yet comes back with all his clothes on and intact ;) As for Minato being annoyed at the lack of seduction - yes. Yes he is. She's doing it _wrong! _ But you already know how this chapter goes :) **bylaternlight **- welcome to the party! Pull up a chair and get comfy. and thank you. I tend to think that relationships should be based on more than physical aspects and friendship goes a looong way when it comes to things staying through thick and thin. I wanted Minato and Kushina's relationship to be believable and to have an abiding aspect. Which, to me, means starting at the basics and making a solid base before you move upward and onward together. Of course, that said, I now feel a little nervous about this chapter - lol. **silverstarkakashi4eva** - dang I hope I got that right. welcome, welcome, drinks are in the fridge, help yourself. and I'm glad you're enjoying. Much more Minato/Kushina to come. Promise! and **mc **- always faithful, I adore you. yes, Minato doesn't know how to relax or enjoy quiet or simply be. If Kushina taught him nothing else, that would be worth the lesson. Luckily, she's got even more up her sleeve. And I'm glad you found me on LiveJournal. I get to ramble a bit more and explore ideas a bit more over there ;) and you're right - he has been self-medicating on battles (amazing turn of phrase - absolutely perfect!). And he's been called back - and now he's back from that too. Hopefully the little fox will still know exactly what he needs as opposed to what he thinks he needs ;)_ -_ and for everyone else that was waiting to review the last chapter until the day before I post - heh - don't let this stop ya. I'll take double reviews!_ _here we go, gentle readers, don't forget how this story started..._

Chapter 9:

Each time he moved his stomach lurched. His skin felt sick - cold and chilled and clammy when he returned to his village.

He felt ill and his soul felt fouled. He'd thought that wasn't possible anymore.

There was a smell in his nostrils that made his throat ache and he knew it was his own skin that was giving it off. When he touched things with his fingers, it took a long moment for the sensation to register. He was trying not to touch things with his fingers, with any part of himself, though. He felt as if it might spread the taint he carried. The gouges on his side and the gashes over his shoulder and back ached with a dull throb that told him just how bad they were but somehow that was so… normal a feeling that it didn't register quite right to his mind. A mind that felt coated with something sticky and oily, something dark that whispered as it slipped its diseased fingers into every crack and crevice of his thoughts.

He was still ANBU however. He was still Namikaze Minato. He could hide what was going on inside himself and the taint on his soul that made his blood boil despite the sick feeling in his gut and the cold of his skin… and the ache in him to go back to killing things.

Any things.

He reported what he'd found to the Hokage and then what methods he'd found to destroy it. He spoke without inflection. He reported facts. Details. Where he could, he gave place names he'd hunted the nightmare though. What should have been a horror story sounded like a budget report when he gave it. His voice stayed calm and it didn't shake or give away any emotion but cold efficiency.

He was ANBU. He was Namikaze. Nothing else was allowed to get in the way of those simple facts.

If he hadn't been ready to drop from exhaustion, he wouldn't have come back just now though.

He wasn't human yet. He wasn't fit to be around fragile people.

The frustrated, violent need to keep killing hadn't faded out of him yet.

The Hokage dismissed him and he ignored the instruction to go to the infirmary and have his wounds looked at. If anyone tried to touch him – he didn't think his control was strong enough right now not to react. Instead he went back to his apartment building and climbed the wall to let himself in his window. At the moment, using the stairs was far too normal for his mind to abide by.

He needed a shower. He needed food. He needed sleep.

He needed to lock himself in his room until he was safe for the rest of Konoha. Until his skin felt like something other than a dead corpse's and the frustrated rage at a world where the helpless suffered had finished burning through his blood. When the childish desire to hurt something, anything, to try to block out the sickness in his soul had faded.

When he didn't have to lock his mind on dark, vicious thoughts to keep it from replaying other images that made him want to vomit and curl into a ball and never stop shaking.

He was through the window and bedroom and padding silently down the short hallway before he realized –

He was in the wrong apartment.

What had been bubbling like bile in his veins, almost too loud for rational thoughts, stilled for just a moment and he was aware of the sounds of voices. Laughter.

Of life.

His vision was dark around its edges, full of shadows that were just waiting for him to let his guard down to swallow him whole but through that he was aware of people gathered around a couch, of something cooking on the nearby stove, of… his eyes focused just enough to give him the single person that flickered like golden flame and he rested a hand on the wall to brace himself, trapped in a suspended moment like an ant caught in oil.

The sounds stopped and faces he knew he should recognize and didn't turned to him but all he saw were golden eyes that widened and then narrowed.

He blinked and the room was suddenly empty. He caught at the wall again as he realized he'd been about to pitch forward. Arms came around his ribs, surprisingly strong and steadying. A body was pressed against his, holding him up, supporting him.

Touching him –

The snarl rolled out of his throat without the need for thought and his entire body stiffened, muscles coiling. His fingers, numb, still sought automatically for vulnerable spots.

And a quiet, crooning rumble slipped through him.

His fingers stayed pressed to the pressure points but they didn't push. The crooning filled his chest, a small, sighing sound and in the distraction of it, he realized he was gently being pushed down onto the couch. He sat – but his fingers shifted to catch at and hold and his fox's woman's body slid into his lap facing him. Her thighs bracketed his on either side, strangely sheltering instead of confining. The weight, the pressure of her… felt good.

He felt fingers in his hair and suddenly the reinforced porcelain mask he'd been wearing was coming loose. For the first time in days he saw things without the surrounding darkness of its eye holes. It made the skin tingle across his cheeks and nose, the first time he'd felt anything for – for a very long time. He inhaled and for the first time in what felt like forever smelled something other than swamp and blood and rot. He smelled citrus and earth. A grove of lemon trees on a hot summer day.

His fox. He knew her smell.

She shifted on him to set the mask aside and it lifted her hips from his. He reached out and pulled her back down on him firmly. It made her jump, just a little in surprise, but the dark violence in him was shifting, finding outlet and he clamped down and held her still while he rolled his hips under hers. It took away the dead chill that had clung to his flesh for so long.

Even exhausted and half a creature, he never would have be so careless with a woman. With any other woman. But she was his fox and he realized that he resented the fact she didn't think he was worth seducing.

Her fingers found the muscles of his shoulders and dug in as he moved, kneading hard enough to hurt – and to feel wonderful. She settled tighter against him too and, for a brief second, he felt something other than sick or angry or frustrated. He felt smug and his fingers flexed on her and held on tight. The crooning noise in her throat had changed pitch.

Physically, there was no way, even if he'd been sure of her, that he would have been in the mood to toss her down and take her. Somehow… that wasn't the point. He wasn't sure what the point was. Just that – she drove the sick, numb feeling from his body where she touched him and the violence at the edges of his mind had retreated in the face of a different kind of dark hunger.

Her fingers moved on him again and unfastened the filthy ANBU vest to help him out of it. He moved his arms to make it easier for her but he didn't let go of her hips or let up on the pressure he used to keep her pressed tightly against him. She didn't protest or try to slip away.

The arm guards, dented and scratched came next and for the first time he realized they'd left bruises on his forearms where they'd taken impacts that would have shattered his bones otherwise. Methodical, she stripped his gloves off next. The imprints from the bite marks started to show then around and over the larger, more ubiquitous bruises on his arms. Pathetically small half circles from blunt teeth that had never been meant for rending.

Children's teeth.

She didn't acknowledge them, just reached down to tug his shirt free of his pants and then she paused. He waited, mind shut off and moving on impulse alone.

Squirming she made it off his lap and onto her feet but it was only because her fingers had dug into him like claws and were pulling him upright with her that he let her go long enough for that. Upright, he could tug her closer into him; press more of her body into his. It made a hundred hidden pains from cuts and bruises and torn muscles start aching – but it meant he was still alive. His hands moved to secure her body more tightly against his.

She stepped back and he took the step with her to keep them in contact. Needing what the rub and grind and pressure from her body did to his. She took another step and he took it with her, following because, even gone to dark impulses and mindless… he would pursue doggedly – but he would never force.

Somehow the tugging, pulling motions had them in the bathroom, in the shower, and she let him have her then, let her body press completely and entirely into his. It pulled a low sound out of his throat and he lowered his head as his hands moved over her. The violence was gone, replaced with a low, rumbling hunger and the frustration had changed to something that had an outlet. He ground his hips against hers and one of her hands clawed on his shoulder as he pushed her back against the tile of the wall.

The water came on suddenly, hot and pounding and he winced under it, momentarily confused and distracted. Then he hissed as it abraded the open flesh on his other shoulder. It hurt, it hurt badly enough that his vision went black and yet…

Oh… thank any kind deity and fate that still existed in the world… it felt good. It felt – clean.

He shut his eyes and let his head sag forward and suddenly he was simply tired. Tired and worn out and wishing he remembered how to cry. His exhale went on forever and he was vaguely aware, when he opened his eyes, of a red head near his nose and long, barely there fingers slowly lifting the shirt where the blood had dried it to his wounds.

"Little fox…" he finally managed it and the sound came out broken and raw. She crooned at him and the top of her nose nudged at his throat and the underside of his jaw. Her arms were still around him even as she maneuvered the shirt, so he shut his eyes and held on to her.

The shower went by in odd fits. He was aware of his shirt coming off. At some point he realized he was barefoot. He smelled soap and long fingered hands were rubbing suds over him with a kneading efficiency that brought life back to his numb skin. He felt strands of wet red hair as he tangled them around his fingers again and again. There was a scalp massage that almost made his knees buckle and he sagged, but the slender form in front of him was strong enough to keep him from falling. Shampoo washed down over his cheeks and he could smell rosemary and mint and knew it was the little fox's and that he smelled like her now. The water finally shut off and the next thing he knew she was leading him into her bedroom.

For some reason he found it funny that she'd stripped him entirely… but left his pants on.

"Change." He found a pair of his own pants, clean and comfortable, pressed into his hands and he did as instructed, wondering when she'd been given access to his clothes and why she'd taken them when she had. She moved around the room, pulling thick blankets over all the open windows. Making a den, it occurred to him belatedly.

Then she was urging him to sit down on the bed and he was tugging her with him, wanting the weight and friction and pressure of her in his lap again but she was wiggling out of his grip.

"Food," she instructed and managed to weasel her way free. He watched her disappear out the bedroom door and then frowned and leaned down without thinking about it to pick up his wet ANBU pants and drape them over a chair. She came back and there was a flurry of soft pushes and clicking noises from her tongue until he was sitting down on the bed again. He reached for her but she pushed a warm bowl into his hands instead.

Ramen. For some reason, it almost broke him. But she sat down behind him on the bed and her bare legs slipped forward on either side of him to wrap around his waist. It steadied him and, methodical, he ate while she stitched up where the claws had laid his shoulder blade open and then inspected his ribs, carefully cleaning out the punctures. He ignored it as best as he could and only paused in his eating when it was at its worse. Her crooning made it easier than he would have expected.

He finished the bowl and sat with it in his hands, head bowed as she finished her work on his abused body. He thought… he thought but couldn't be sure that he felt the soothing heat of foreign chakra prodding at the stitched sections of his skin. The bowl was slipped out of his slack hands and he felt nudges.

"Sleep," her voice instructed, the word almost a croon itself.

"Can you stop the dreams?" he was too tired for pride, too exhausted and finally warm and human feeling again.

"Of course," her voice was soft and she was drawing back sheets and blankets for him that felt cool and smelled clean and freshly washed. "I will dream for you."

That would – he thought that would work. She reached out to prod him again and he caught her and dragged her down onto the bed. She finally let him. The exhaustion was winning – but restlessness still gnawed at him. She lay on the bed on her back, hair across the white of the pillows like streams of fire, gold eyes ancient and soft as they watched him. He wouldn't be able to sleep on his back the way he usually did. Instead, he shifted over her and settled on his stomach between her legs. It was too intimate – and he didn't care. He needed her weight and the pressure of her body and he couldn't hold her on his chest the way he was used to. Moving, he rested his head in the curve between her shoulder and chest and exhaled. Under his cheek he could feel the steady beat of her heart and she made a soft sound in her throat. She was dry. He wondered how she managed that when she had been in the shower with him. Kitsune magic…

Slender arms came up and around him, careful of his wounded shoulder and it felt right. It felt… comforting… His eyes were too hot and dry to leave open anymore and he shut them, content to never move again. He felt her legs rub up against his and her long fingers trailed through his hair.

"Yondaime…" she murmured softly and he was surprised, as he drowned in sleep, to find his lips relaxing at their edges and, barely, curving upward.

True to her word, he dreamed fox dreams. His world was full of vibrant scents that all but glowed with rich textured colors and he ran on four paws low to the ground. He felt the freedom of wind in the fur that covered his small compact body and the contentment of lying curled in a tumble of siblings. Long jaws snapped at incandescent beetles and he knew the pleasure of lying in the dirt while the sun baked down on him. He wandered hidden paths that he knew without remembering how. He wandered the dappled woods and sun warmed fields for a long time.

It felt… too long.

He raised his nose from the turtle he'd been investigating lazily and listened as the wind rippled over the tall grass and the trees that bordered it. Barely there a sound came to him and it was so faint he almost ignored it. Except it came again and he felt the way it shivered under his skin and filled him with energy and the desire to find it. He left the turtle and stretched his long legs, reveling in the feel of muscles coiling and releasing in perfect tandem. The earth felt good under his paws and where the grass brushed against his fur it was soothing. The path through the trees broke and he recognized the old ruined shack. He recognized the woman in front of it and knew she was just like him for all that she'd lost her beautiful fur and had to balance awkward and fragile on two legs. Even without the perfection of her smaller body… he thought she was so beautiful she made his heart hurt in his chest.

Three bounds brought him to her and one more leap had him in her opening arms. She was laughing and the sound made his insides vibrate with helpless pleasure. He lapped at her throat and cheeks to hear it again and basked in the rewarding sound. Her body had fingers, beautiful, wonderful fingers and she used them to scratch all the best places through his thick fur.

The world was beautiful and he'd never been so happy. He thought his small body might burst with it.

He woke up in the dark and felt utterly disoriented for a long moment before the constant burning throb along his shoulder reminded him where – and what – he was. Inhaling helped a little but somehow the scents of fox and fresh sheets and soap seemed shallow compared to what he had been able to smell in his dream. He had an arm wrapped around a pillow, not a woman's body, and he slit his eyes open.

He hadn't needed to. He'd already known the room was empty of the feel of her.

His mouth felt dry and when he sat up the world went black for a moment. How long had he been asleep? He was just starting to stand, surprised that it wasn't more difficult than it was, that his body didn't ache the way he'd expected it to, when he heard the tapping sound again. Knowing what it meant – and wondering with suddenly narrow eyes who was sneaking into his fox's bedroom – he walked over and slid one of the blankets free of the window, careful to stay to the side so he offered no silhouette as a target. Outside, it was night and Konaha lay silent. A man already dressed in ANBU garb with the face of a raven looked back at him from the windowsill.

"The Hokage says you are to lead us back the way you came." If there was any surprise at finding him in a bedroom that wasn't his there was no indication. But the man was ANBU. "He thinks there may be one of the Hidden Villages responsible for what you saw."

He nodded and pulled himself smoothly up onto the sill next to the man. His shoulder felt far too functional.

"I have back-up equipment in my apartment. Tell the Hokage I'll be there soon."

The other ANBU was gone with a nod and Minato looked back into the bedroom. She wasn't there.

He didn't know where she'd gone.

Soundless he pulled himself up the side of the building and minutes later was headed for the Hokage's apartments. He'd left a note for her on his bed. It seemed foolish – but he wouldn't run away without a word either. It simply said:

"I'll come back."

If there was anything else to add, he couldn't think of what it should be.


	10. Chapter 10

_all right, here we go ;) **cholericdolphin** - mini-mysteries - bwahahaha! (mine is an evil laugh). Though that's not the last time Minato will face off against that particular evil again. I needed something that would beat him up psychologically as much as physically. It wasn't hard to figure out how. it was an... interesting chapter to write so I'm glad you liked it. ** velo** - heh, yeah, serious tide is a great phrase for last chapter. And yes, he did just kind of hone in on her, didn't he? The boy works well when his subconscious is running things - lol. I also like that you noticed his annoyances with different aspects were starting to come to the fore. We'll see how he does once his head kicks in again ;) ** mc** - I'll be the first to admit, I don't usually write such physically heavy scenes. I'm ridiculously pleased that it came off as 'hot' instead of 'silly'. and I'm absolutely adoring the fact you write me two reviews, one for here, one for my posts of this story in my LiveJournel. that you actually sit and let the story stew in your head for a while and discover new things not only flatters me beyond belief but also tells me I must be doing something right. And you're right - Minato's calm enough it takes a great deal to rattle him and I'm glad you noticed his excessively dark side. He's not a nice guy and I'm glad that even when he's not, he still has the readers caring about him. And that they like the way his little fox fits into that part of him as well ;) **crazylikeanko** - you can tell me how he does this chapter with the 'realization' of what he's done. Minato seems to me, when I write him at least, to walk a thin line between hyper-aware and clueless and sometimes his lack of reaction confuses me on which he's doing at the moment. He'll certainly have to face the fox in this chapter though. Guess we'll see how that goes ;) **tennisdesi91** - thanks and welcome to the party! Minato brought the snacks this time. Glad you're enjoying and I will do my best to keep the story interesting and flowing :D **jini! **- my sanity checker as well as my fact checker! thank you, I LOVED your review. You caught everything I was aiming for from Minato's darkness and Kushina's salvation for it to the fact that, for all the 'pawing' (lol can't resist a good pun) there was a line that didn't and wouldn't get crossed. I think they both know there's more going on than just a physical thing. Or at least Kushina probably does, we'll see if Minato's picked up on that yet ;) And I'm glad that Minato's humanity came through too. He's so busy being useful and efficient and professional that the inner wounds get ignored until it's almost too late. Your review hit all those points and much more succinctly than I - lol_ _All right gentle readers and best beloveds, let's see how Minato handles his 'morning after'._

Chapter 10:

His ANBU team had been chasing rumors for a week. At the end of it, all they had was a dead end trail right where Minato had put an end to the nightmare that had claimed two small outlying villages. The fire jutsu Minato had called down to consume the spot where the bodies from those villages had finally come upon him had left little behind to lead elsewhere. They'd been sent to check anyway in the hopes that somehow something else had survived to lead them to the beginning source of the nightmare. Minato had been thorough though. He always made it a point to be.

He didn't say so now but he was privately glad.

The nightmare had done enough evil. Clues or no, he didn't want any taint of that leaking beyond the point where he'd brought it to an end.

Still, the winding path it had taken and what it had left behind after its destruction seemed to point to the Land of Wind. It wasn't a comforting thought. Minato wasn't going to rush to judgment. But… if he'd been Hokage, he would have been sending several of his most stealthy nin to that country to keep their ears open. If the Land of Wind decided to get aggressive it could quickly drag many more countries into its problems.

Not that he had planned on speculating out loud when he'd given his report of what they'd found to the Hokage. To his surprise though, the Hokage asked for just what he hadn't been egotistical enough to offer and he ended up sitting in the office talking for a great deal longer than he'd expected. That the conversation was classified didn't need to be stated… but he still thought it was strange that a man of the Hokage's position would be interested in ruminations of his. Flattered, honored – but still a little surprised.

Then Jiraiya had come into the room but again Minato had been surprised when the conversation didn't continue on about the Land of Wind but instead had changed to what his sensei and the rest of the team had discovered in the Land of Whirlpool.

As his fox had claimed, its main village had been entirely destroyed. The smaller surrounding clusters of farming and fishing communities had been scattered. Unlike Minato's destroyed villages, whoever had hit the Whirlpool village had been a group and well organized. Minato sat in the chair, expressionless and yet he felt the blow.

The Land of Whirlpool was no more.

An entire people, an entire population… gone.

The Sannin hadn't been able to find out who had done it but the Hokage was sending new teams with trackers in their groups. Whoever had attacked their ally so quietly and with such destruction – the Land of Fire would answer and it would start with Konoha finding the culprit.

"You'll want to tell your charge, of course," the Hokage looked up from his hands that were folded in his lap to meet Minato's eyes. "I expect, even if she suspects something like this, the news will be devastating." The older man paused. "Just… try to be gentle when you do it, Namikaze."

"Hokage-sama?" Minato wondered why the man felt the need to tell him something that obvious. Jiraiya sighed and clapped his pupil on the shoulder.

"You tend to be a bit unemotional, Minato. Just – remember she doesn't seem to have that habit herself."

Minato looked at his teacher and didn't know how to respond. Or even how to feel. He knew people considered him cold and unemotional. Emotion got in the way of being a shinobi. It had never occurred to him that it would ever be considered a detriment. Face expressionless, his eyes still narrowed and his voice held the vibrations of a growl.

"I will be gentle with Kushina."

Almost as soon as he said it – he remembered that, the last time they'd been together, he hadn't been gentle at all. It almost made him wince but the habit of not revealing anything saved him. Not that he'd exactly 'forgotten' what he'd done to her a week ago. He couldn't imagine forgetting something like that…

For some reason Jiraiya was grinning and even the Hokage was smiling slightly to himself and looking pleased.

"Didn't mean to imply you wouldn't keep her safe, Minato," Jiraiya chuckled. "Taking your duty as guardian pretty seriously, hm?"

Minato, used to his sensei's teasing, shot him another look and didn't answer.

The Hokage smiled and motioned with a hand.

"Go on, Namikaze. I think we've talked of everything. Go be gentle with the Whirlpool kunoichi. You can consider yourself off the duty roister for a little while unless we need you specifically."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Minato stood up and bowed his head. As the door shut behind him, he heard his teacher, laughter in his voice, comment:

"Never thought I'd see the day that boy was glad to stay planted somewhere."

Minato didn't roll his eyes but it was more because it was a habit he didn't want to get into. He didn't mind being off the duty roister at the moment because it meant he got to spend more time with his fox.

Which of course was important if he was going to find a way to save his son.

He went back to his apartment to take a shower and change. His note was gone and his bed was a mess. The pillows were shoved to the foot of it and the sheet and blanket were tangled up to form something that almost looked like a nest in the very center of his mattress. Stopping to straighten everything and make the bed, he brought the sheet to his nose and smelled sun baked earth and citrus. The edges of his lips relaxed for the first time since he'd left.

She couldn't be that angry with him if she was still sleeping in his bed…

After he showered and washed out his ANBU uniform, he changed and pulled on his regular clothes and his worn jonin vest. Something seemed to slide out of him when he did and he exhaled. Now he was simply a shinobi.

It wasn't a bad thing to be.

He perched on his windowsill and looked out at the village. It was the middle of the day and he didn't even check to see if his little fox was in her apartment or not. She wouldn't be. It did bring up the question however of where a fox without anyone steering her would go when left on her own. He didn't think she'd go back to the forest. She seemed to enjoy Konoha too much for that.

With a sigh that left him surprised to find a smile following it, he hopped down and started his search.

She wasn't at the ramen stand – though apparently she'd been there almost every night. She wasn't with Umino – though apparently she'd visited at least twice and won Aki as her staunch defender, even though Minato wasn't exactly sure why Aki thought he was, if not the villain, at least in need of straightening out. It didn't seem to have anything to do with their last night together before he'd left on the mission – which was a relief. He also found that various other people, both shinobi and non seemed to have become quite used to her arrival in their lives but that she wasn't there now. The more he searched, the more bemused and yet puzzled over where she could be, he became.

She couldn't be hiding from him. She didn't know he was back yet.

He finally found her in one of the dusty side streets in the poorer section of town. She was surrounded by children and he paused on his heels on the rooftop above to watch. He couldn't tell what kind of game they were playing. It seemed to involve two colored balls, a lot of 'keep away' and wrapping their arms around her so she had to drag them along with her. The neighborhood was full of the sounds of their laughter. He draped his arms over his thighs and watched, finding himself smiling despite the fact the game seemed to have no rules or even sides in competition for that matter. And then she looked up and saw him…

He felt his muscles lock and all expression left his face. He couldn't tell what was on hers from this distance, just that she'd frozen as well. All the emotions he'd been so careful not to allow inside himself – guilt, fear, uncertainty, self-disgust, as well as smugness, possessiveness, the physical tug of need and pleasure – they all rose in him at the same time and clamored for attention. He'd been rough with her… she'd still reached for him. He'd treated her with a shameless physical reaction… she was supposed to be the one seducing him. He hadn't asked her permission… she was the one that had instigated playing his lover. He'd been dark…

She'd come to him even though he was…

That last one had burrowed under his skin and nipped at the edges of his mind all week. The rest had just chewed on his conscious. Brows coming down, he swung himself onto the street and strode forward. He was almost to her when she finally moved.

The smile that spread across her face like the breaking dawn was a punch directly to his gut and the next second she was running the few steps it took to throw herself into his arms, twining her own around him like ivy vines as chirps issued from her throat between her huffs of laughter.

His body reacted automatically to the feel of hers pressed against it again and he groaned low in his throat as he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet.

Mine. Mine, mine, mine, mine. It was the only word that would echo through his head as he pulled her tightly into his own body and soaked in the way the feel of her there made all the aches that had nothing to do with muscles or bones or bruises disappear. Chuffing, she shifted her hips against his and he nearly dropped her. The sound it did rouse caught in the back of his throat and it was lucky they were surrounded by children. He spread his fingers to clamp her in place. Her huffed amusement sounded near his ear and then she nipped him lightly on the tip of it.

"Missed you," she confessed.

'Not as much as I missed you', he thought but that sounded stupid and lovesick. He had missed her company. He'd missed her presence nearby. Not… he hadn't missed her because there were any deeper emotions involved.

"No, you didn't," he answered instead and his ear got another light nip in response. It made him smile and he spun her, just to feel her fingers clench on him and make her dizzy. She huffed her laughter against his ear and he stopped, feeling better, and looked over at the children watching them. He didn't set her down. One of his hands against her back shifted and he flashed one of the balls they'd been playing with at them.

"We still have a ball," he told them calmly and as if that was the sign they'd been waiting for, the children suddenly swarmed both of them in their cheerful attempt to retrieve it. He kept one arm around his little fox and took turns scooping up children with his other and depositing them at a spun distance. He soon lost the ball but no one seemed to notice or care.

He didn't mind when children touched him. Strangely, there was something soothing about the grab of tiny fingers and grubby hands at his vest and pants' legs. They took the place of memories of other fingers and hands.

Finally he set his fox on her feet, expecting help. She was a fox though, even in human form, and so instead he found himself on his back with her sitting on his chest and children helping her pin his arms and legs down. She grinned her foxy grin down at him triumphantly and folded her arms over her chest.

"We win," she declared and he gave up, surprised to hear a rusty sound coming out of his own throat that might – perhaps – have been the ghost of his own dead laughter.

"You may have won, but if my team had won instead, there would have been chichi dango for everyone on it."

Fickle, the tide of triumph, heralded by the children, turned. To keep her from ending up flat on her back the way he had, Minato managed to get his little fox gathered up in his arms with her own arms pinned at her sides. She was making too many of her huffing, amused sounds to protest with words as the children shrilled their triumph – and then immediately demanded their bribery price. Minato stood up with his fox still in his arms and headed to the nearest shop

His fox forgave him for cheating when he handed her a wax paper wrapped goma dango. She settled down on the bench outside the shop in apparent obliviousness to everything else, nose near the dumpling but as the children thanked Minato for the treats and then started to drift home, she raised her head to bark softly:

"Squads. Squad of three. Never, never alone. You and you and you then me."

It had a strange sing-song quality to it and the children reached out for each other, hooking up into teams of three and grinning back at her before going on their way. Minato sat down next to her with his own dango and watched it with narrowed eyes.

"What's going on?"

She watched the children go and shook her head as if she were settling fur. He suddenly realized why, when a team member had shaken their head during the last mission, it had actually taken him a minute to register the gesture as meaning something negative.

"Your village doesn't have enough dogs, Yondaime. Or cats." She looked down at her dango and pinched off a bit of it, looking pleased at the baked flakes of it. Then she looked back at him and gold eyes were burnished and ancient and worried at their edges. "Maybe they've all gone the way of the sick dog. Maybe children are not that different from dogs and cats."

He leaned forward.

"Is anyone missing?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. But no children that I have heard of. Not yet."

He nodded and looked back at the village in front of them as she ate her treat and his cooled. After she took an unsolicited bite out of his dango though, he switched it to the far hand and ate it himself. She leaned against his arm and didn't seem to mind sitting in silence. It was… restful.

He realized… he realized it had been over two weeks since he'd felt at peace like this and relaxed. Snack finished he tipped his head back against the wall behind them and shut his eyes. The lazy sun warmed his skin and soaked into him. It felt like one of those autumn days when it felt, briefly, like summertime. After a little while, his fox shifted against his arm and he started to rouse himself from the doze he'd been falling into. She only made a light crooning noise however and soon her head was resting on his thigh and she'd curled up on her side.

After a minute, she twitched her shoulders at him.

Smile moving onto his lips, he reached down and obliged her by starting to scratch her back and she hummed out in contentment and settled loosely. He shut his eyes again and went back to his doze.

As reunions went, he was fairly sure, if they'd been in a 'relationship' they would have needed to talk for hours to catch up on everything and if they'd been in a physical relationship… he wasn't sure but he assumed it would have involved a great deal of skin and sweat and it wouldn't have been legal on a bench outside a treat shop.

He shifted his leg under her head and she reached up to curl long fingers over his thigh and nestled in closer. His own hand shifted to her hair and she vocalized some burbling, contented noises as he sifted his fingers through her soft hair.

Slow, the tension and pain, the horror and worry of the passed few weeks uncoiled in him and bled off.

He woke up when the sun had shifted enough to leave him in shade and he opened his eyes to realize dusk was almost complete. Next to him, his fox was already awake but she hadn't moved from her spot and her gold eyes flickered from person to person as the evening crowd started to form. People watching. She seemed to enjoy that. He reached out and combed his fingers through her hair, brushing it off of her throat and gold eyes shifted to peer up at him. Her fingers were curled up just under her chin and her legs were tucked up. Even in human form, she looked foxy, he thought and it made him smile.

"Food?" he asked and she sat up quickly, eyes alight.

"Yes!"

He slid her a look from the edges of his own eyes.

"Ramen?" he guessed and she huffed her laughter and nodded. He let the low sound escape his throat and stood up. She immediately pulled herself onto his back and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, legs going around his waist. He wondered if foxes and children were really that different as he obligingly slid his hands under her knees and gave them a squeeze to hear her chuffing sounds. The tip of his nose got a bat with her finger and then she pointed ahead of him as if directing a military charge. He coughed his opinion of that but followed her direction anyway, her weight a warm reassurance against his back.

"How's Kurosawa?" he asked after the other Whirlpool shinobi and she made a noise through her nose.

"Getting better. His body resists the medic-nin's healing though. They say his chakra flows wrong."

"They told you?"

She made another huffing noise near his ear as if he'd just asked a foolish question.

"I have ears. I can hear. They don't have to talk directly to me for it to be that way."

It didn't surprise him.

"Then you know about the Whirlpool Country."

"Yes…" her voice was softer. "I heard that too. It is no more."

"I'm sorry."

"The wild animals will have it back now. Our fox shrines will turn into nests and dens. The salmon will return. There will still be life there. And one day humans will settle there and build again. But not in my lifetime I think. It will seem very quiet and lonely in my time."

He rubbed his thumb over the joint of her knee and she nestled her chin on his shoulder. After a minute, he murmured:

"Have you spoken to Kurosawa yet?"

He heard her teeth snap in her closed mouth.

"No. I think I have planted the thought that I was not fond of him before already. It is safe for me to not want to see the only other surviving member of Kushina's village."

"Sometimes – " he ducked under the banners over the ramen stand and his voice was low. "I wonder how much of what you do is real and how much is just for us to believe it's real."

She didn't answer. He hadn't expected her to.

She didn't gorge. Two bowls was apparently her usual amount. He noticed with some amusement that she was already fast friends with the youth behind the counter and his father in the back and he listened to them all throw comments back and forth, content to simply listen and enjoy the warm noodles. Watching the teen though, he caught certain signs and so, after they'd finished – and he'd paid – he mentioned it as they strolled slowly back toward the apartments down some of the quieter side streets.

"The kid's falling in love with you."

Her eyes shifted to the side and her chin sank a little. He was surprised to realize it looked like a dejected expression.

"I know."

"Can't you turn off the fox seduction?"

The look she shot him in response was a look he'd seen from women before. It stated that he was an idiot. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"I'm female," she stated it as if it should have been obvious. "And I pay attention to him. He doesn't need anything else to think he feels love for me."

"You pay attention to me."

"You've had females pay attention to you all of your life. He hasn't. For him, it is special to know he is important enough for a female to notice."

"That's… sad," he didn't know what the desire for attention was. Growing up… he'd had too much. But he knew people that did crave attention. It had always seemed painful and lonely.

She nodded.

"It makes my chest hurt because he is so good and yet no one has told him so. But I can't because then he will only love me more if I do."

"Kitsune don't collect men?"

She rolled golden orbs in his direction and snapped her teeth in warning.

"You know better. No story about us involves many males. Even foxes don't mate wide. I don't belong to him. He will only hurt himself if he thinks I do."

"And who _do_ you belong to?" She turned laughing eyes on him.

"I belong to myself." Laughter without a sound. "I will however let you borrow me for a while."

His own mouth relaxed and curved a little at that.

"I think I can handle that."

"So sure," she teased, chin tucking to the side and her eyes glinting at him from the other. He exhaled a sound in appreciative amusement.

They stopped in front of her apartment door and she cheerfully dug out her keys. He watched her face carefully – but she gave him nothing. No indications of what came next. No sign at all that anything had changed between them.

Nothing should have changed between them.

He wasn't foolish enough to think that he could have a physical relationship and not start feeling something for her. Maybe some people could; maybe foxes could. It wasn't his nature to be careless with someone he trusted enough to touch though. He understood that he would, at some point, need to bed her. Probably at her grandfather's if only to prove the lie they were going to attempt. He already knew his body liked the idea. The last time they'd been together had been proof enough of that and the way it was reacting to her now just solidified the case.

Which just went to show how he was already too close to the situation to look at it objectively.

With a nod, he left her at her door and climbed the stairs to his own room.

Despite his decision, he realized, as he felt the soft landing of fox feet on his mattress quite a few minutes later, that he'd been lying there waiting for her. He opened his eyes to watch her, in furred form, pad across his bed and up onto his chest. Her eyes watched him back. Instead of curling up into a ball and going to sleep, she lay down facing him and rested her chin on top of her paws at the base of his throat. He slid an arm under his head and tucked his chin to continue watching her eyes. After a minute she whined and her tiny paws patted lightly at his skin. Leaning forward after a moment more, she whined again, longer this time, and nudged him, not entirely gently, with her nose, prodding at the underside of his chin and the edges of his ears.

With a sound of his own, he gave in and spread both hands over her, curving around her back and haunches, fingers shifting to dig into her soft fur. She shivered under that and the side of her muzzle rested against his jaw. Barely, he could hear the whine still whispering at the back of her throat.

For some reason that sound hurt.

Without thinking about it, his hands began to move over her. First it was simple circles where they rested but soon he was smoothing them along the full length of her. Under their pressure, her body finally started to relax and lose the tension he'd felt in it. The first time he wrapped his hand around her muzzle, a soft little sound slipped out of her, something between a coo and a croon. He took to doing it for a long moment before cupping his hand to run it over her face and ears, then down the back of her neck and over her back until it ended at her haunches and the end brush of her tail. The crooning invaded his own body slowly, drowsy, and it thrummed through her into his chest. He shut his eyes and let her natural warmth soak into him as well. The slide of her fur was comforting and he could smell citrus and earth as he closed his eyes and let himself sink.

He was going to have to put up some boundaries against her. Soon. Even if he had cared for her – she was a kitsune. He couldn't believe in any sincerity from her. And more… when his son was safe…

When his son was safe – she'd leave him.


	11. Chapter 11

_aaaand - we're back. My replies will be spotty this time, my head's been zoning this week. **tennisdesi91** - your review was short and yet you gave me wonderful detail of what you enjoyed. Perfect. Yes, Minato is still wrestling with his decisions. Part of the fun of writing such an analytical character trying to make emotional decisions ;) ** kirsten** - glad you're enjoying. Minato and Kushina need more attention in the fic world - er, good attention at least ;) I wrote a short in which Kushina was a fox (I've taken it down since) and the idea just seemed to stick. Foxy fit - lol. **cholericdolphin** - errr - you may feel bad for someone in this chapter too. lol - sorry. They just seem to write that way for me. Perhaps because it's a 'darker' story, perhaps because we know the way this will end for so many of them, I'm not sure. I don't intend my story to be depressing and hopefully the fluff will keep you afloat until things start to turn around for some of the characters at least. hang in there, there's foxy magic on it's way! **velo** - good luck with those exams first off. :) we'll all bring flags and big foam #1 fingers to cheer you on! yeah, Minato's an idiot - lol but it's because he's a cautious idiot. I think you nailed every reason he's got in his head for all the stubborn hesitation he's got going. Of course, he's Minato - so you know there's got to be logic applied to illogical situations he finds himself in - lol. I think you'll be proud of him later on though. **mc** - eh, Minato's a surprisingly proper and gentle man with people he considers under his protection. I think he'd think he was being too harsh if he even spoke loudly to one of them. I'm guessing at this point but I think his view of violence, and his view of his capability for it, is very heavily compartmentalized. Yes, it's acceptable to be utterly brutal and remorseless to the point of being terrifying and inhuman in dealing with enemies; no, it's absolutely unforgivable to handle someone precious to him harshly. The fox, as in all things, just makes him question the barriers he's always putting up to keep other people safe from himself. It's her day job ;) also - you're not an alarmist, you just know this writer well and Minato's bite marks from the past will certainly come up again. **clear** - wow, one sitting? dang, I'm flattered! well, pull up a chair and get comfortable cause we're going to be around for a little while longer at least :D I am trying to keep in canon but I don't have any intention to write to the end/beginning of the manga. This is many years before so our characters have some time yet. ** jini! **- yeah, that 'mine, mine, mine' just wrote itself. Both Minato and I looked at it in surprise - and decided it must be kept. He gets worse ;) and yeah, he wouldn't be our Minato if he wasn't cautious and a bit walled off - but that's what foxes are for. I doubt he's the first person in the world to shy away from emotional vulnerability. We'll see if we can't coax him a little bit further out of those walls he's got around him. And with that said - shall we, oh best beloveds and gentle readers?_

Chapter 11:

He had three days of peace with his little kitsune.

"Like this." He drew the title he wanted on a piece of paper for her and she lifted it and tipped her head to study it carefully, gold eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Two happy snakes, a house with a small animal in it, and a human with a broken leg?"

He narrowed his own eyes and looked over her shoulder at it. After a moment, he simple stated:

"All right."

She huffed a noise and turned her head to bump her nose against the side of his. Then she was on her feet with a grin and bouncing off through the shelves of the library in search of the scroll he needed.

His fox couldn't read.

In a way, he was relieved. She was so… human sometimes he forgot she was a fox. Even doing foxy things… she still felt so human to him. More human, he admitted, than some humans he knew. Her inability to read reminded him she wasn't real. That what he saw wasn't what was really there. That she was just a fox in human skin.

A fox he was starting to get too attached to.

When she smiled and was pleased – he felt pleased. When she was worried or bothered – he worried. And when she shivered…

When she shivered in fear, it was all he could do not to find the source of her fear and rip its head off.

He was trying desperately to remind himself that she was nothing more than a trick – a fox trick. That he was just a passing amusement to her and, when it suited her, she would blow away like autumn leaves in the wind and not even think about it. About him.

So he would not lose sight of what they were really doing. He wouldn't get used to the weight and furred warmth of her on his chest each night. He wouldn't listen for the sound of her chuffing laughter or her chirps of pleasure. He wouldn't learn to be used to having someone by his side…

"This one!"

She dropped down next to him with a foxy grin, arms wrapped around a dusty scroll he was pretty sure should have been in a locked cabinet somewhere. He blinked as he took it from her and turned it to look at the inscription down its front. The edges of his lips started to twist upward despite himself.

He'd been expecting the copy. She'd brought him the original scroll.

He didn't see any reason not to use it – what with it being in front of him and all. She could always put it back where she'd found it once he was done. Her eyes were golden water, all shine and sparkling mischief and her smile was smug. In her fox form, he would swear she would have been wagging her tail… if foxes wagged their tails. He didn't know. She was certainly wiggling in controlled pleasure at herself. He set the scroll in the safety of his crossed legs and leaned in to rub the side of his nose against hers, a gesture he'd learned meant mutual pleasure or pride in an achievement.

His sensei would laugh if he heard Minato was learning to 'speak' fox.

"Another?" she asked and he looked at the collection of scrolls and books she'd already managed to find him and shook his head.

"Not yet."

"Good," she sneezed for effect. "They hide some of those really well."

He slanted her a look and watched her silent laughter at it. With a shake of his head, he reached for the scroll he'd been studying and she settled down on the carpet of the library next to him, curling on her side, head resting on his thigh, long hair streaming into his lap. She'd insisted, if they were going to sit all day, that they do it in a spot where the sun shone in and now it warmed her red hair and her back as she dozed and he studied. The twitch of her shoulders soon had him reaching over automatically to scratch her back while he delved into what the scrolls offered.

He would have been hard pressed to think of a more peaceful way to spend his day.

The sound of a throat being cleared behind him told him that the person he'd sensed wasn't just a random librarian or fellow reader and he turned his head to look over his shoulder. His eyes went a fraction wider, the only show of his surprise at finding the Hokage standing in the space between two of the shelves.

When he would have tried to struggle to his feet – the fox refused to acknowledge the fact she wasn't actually sleeping – the older man gave him a smile and waved him down.

"Don't get up," the Hokage settled down on the floor in front of him and his eyes smiled. "You've got two precious items in your lap and neither should be disturbed for an old man."

One of the 'precious items' made a mildly coughing noise. The scroll he had unrolled most of, of course, made no sound at all.

"Hokage-sama?"

"Sometimes I need an excuse to get out. Some people seem to think I should never leave my office. I thought I would come and find you instead of sending someone to bring you to me, Namikaze." Before Minato could ask out loud, the old man shifted and spread his hands behind him with a sigh.

"It's a good spot to read," he commented mildly. "The sun feels nice."

The fox resting against his leg muttered something that might, just might, have been an 'I told you so'. The Hokage smiled and then he reached out to touch the scroll still in Minato's hands.

"Chakra draining?"

In answer, Minato extended his hand. Concentrating, he forced chakra, his own chakra, to pool in his palm. It came with effort but it came easier than it had when he'd first started. Blue and brilliant, it glowed like electric in his palm and over his fingers but instead of acting like lightning chakra, it dripped almost like liquid. Slow it began to solidify and spiral as Minato's eyes narrowed even more and his brows came down. Against his thigh, his little fox turned her face enough to watch from the edge of her eye.

And then breaks began to appear in the waves and the spiral began to grow ragged and irregular. With a noise, Minato clapped his other hand over it and the blue lit his skin and then vanished. He was breathing hard through his nose.

"I want to take it to the highest level." He said it through his teeth to control the sound of his exhales. "If I can understand how to drain it, I can understand how to control it. Then I can shape it."

The Hokage looked at Minato's closed hands.

"I thought you were still in the theory stage."

It made Minato smile, just a little, and he tucked his chin a little as well.

"I got tired of thinking about it."

The fox snorted and rolled back over. The Hokage cracked a smile.

"I see Jiraiya was right about you being determined."

"Sensei calls it 'stubborn' when he's talking to me," Minato remarked and the Hokage chuckled. Then he nodded as if reaching a final decision.

"Namikaze, I have a mission for you."

"Sir?"

The Hokage waved his hand.

"It's a C-rank mission. You're not going for yourself. I have a team of two Genin and one newly made Chunin who have recently lost their sensei. However they had already contracted as escort duty to a small shipment headed inland. They need a Jonin to watch over them and right now my Jonin that aren't already guiding squads are out searching for some answers to the many questions you've brought me lately. I think you would be appropriate to lead them on their mission. Uzumaki says she is a Chunin. I think you should both go on this one."

The little fox had rolled over to watch the Hokage as he'd talked and she smiled now, hands curled loosely over Minato's knee. The feel of her fingers there was… distracting but he managed to ignore it.

"You want him to judge my skill level," she didn't sound offended and the older man smiled at her.

"Among other things, yes. If you decide to stay with us, which you are welcome to, it would help to know where you fit in."

"I like that," she agreed and he nodded.

"It always helps to have a place to fit in to."

"I like here," she clarified and her hand patted Minato's knee lightly. He didn't know if she'd intentionally meant she liked resting on his leg or if his leg was just in the way and she meant Konoha specific. He assumed the latter. The Hokage's smile widened and his eyes caught light.

"Yes. I thought that too."

The two of them shared a grin that was all teeth and left Minato feeling as if he'd missed something. He made a noise in the back of his throat.

"When do we leave, Hokage-sama?"

"Tomorrow. You can pick up the mission details in my office later." The Hokage rose to his feet and dusted off his robes. The smile stayed in the corners of his mouth. "It should give you more than enough time to put those back – " he gestured to the dusty scrolls that should have been locked away, "where you found them when you're finished."

His little fox's huffing laughter followed the older man back down the shelves of books. Minato touched the top of her head and she rolled onto her back to look up at him.

"He likes you."

Her smile was wide and bright.

"I like him too. He reminds me of Grandfather."

He noticed, however, that she did not label the man 'good'. He reached down and rubbed his thumb down the top of her nose and her eyes lidded as her face relaxed.

"Why aren't you seducing me, little fox?" he asked softly and her gold eyes opened. They looked very deep and burnished. She raised her own hand and the tips of her fingers touched his mouth. For a very long minute she didn't say anything. Finally, very softly, she confessed:

"Because I like you too much, Yondaime. I want you to like me too. I have wanted you to like me for a very long time."

His fingertips touched the line of her cheek.

"Since the trap I took off your leg?"

She nodded.

"A bad man set that for me. I tricked him but I was still dying. You found me and you saved me and you never even cared why it was on me or that I could give you nothing back. I was just a fox to you and you still cared. I knew you were good. I knew I would help you."

"You got caught in my snare on purpose, didn't you?"

She made a noise and sat up, both hands on his leg, fingers curved around his thigh as she leaned in to him to nip the tip of his nose. His body wanted to react to her but he forced himself to remain still.

"No. That was my curiosity. I wanted to see what you had done and I got too close."

Despite himself, it made him smile and he cupped her face in his hands. Her skin was soft against his palms.

"Serves you right."

She snapped teeth playfully at him but she was grinning. Then her face, framed by his hands, shifted and her eyes were soft and young as the smile faded.

"You do like me, Yondaime? Don't you?" she asked quietly, brows pulled close together. It drew the weak smile to his own lips.

Too much. He liked her too much.

"Yes, little fox," he leaned in to rub his cheek against hers. "I like you."

She made a soft humming noise and her eyes closed. Her hands left his leg to come up and wind around his shoulders and he barely remembered to move the scroll before she was in his lap sideways and curled against his chest.

Yes. He liked her too much and it was only going to hurt him at the end of it. He lowered his face into her hair and wrapped his arms around her and she curled close and small in the shelter of his body.

He thought of her as more human than he should. But it was only right. She made him feel more human than he had in a very long time.

"Namikaze-san?"

He lifted his face from her hair just enough to look over the top of her head at the source of the interruption. It wasn't an entirely friendly look.

"Uchiha Fugaku."

His fox turned her face enough to peer at the man from the edge of an eye, recognizing the first name.

The dark haired man didn't sit down and Minato didn't stand for him and it had nothing to do with the fox in his lap. Uchiha's eyes traveled slowly over the position they were in and Minato watched him without apology or expression. Finally Uchiha spoke first.

"You are going to take charge of Akiyama's team for a mission?"

Minato was a little surprised at how quickly the news had traveled. Though he hadn't been told the number of his temporary assignment, if Uchiha said it was Akiyama's old team – it was Akiyama's. He nodded.

"Yes."

Uchiha nodded as well and folded his hands behind his back. His chin went up a little and then he realized he couldn't keep eye contact and brought it back down. Uchiha had aspirations of becoming the head of Konaha's Military Police and, since he was an Uchiha, Minato didn't see that he wouldn't reach that position.

"You will be in charge of training a member of the Uchiha clan," he began, voice emotionless. "Uchiha Obito is the son of my brother's sister in law. He is – lacking. His last sensei was too slack with him. While you are his teacher, the Uchiha clan requests that you treat him as a member of our clan should be treated and not as his personality lends itself to."

Minato's face remained expressionless and he simply looked at the other man. After a minute, Uchiha felt compelled to add:

"He is on the same squad as the son of the White Fang of Konaha. We had hoped that this would spur him to fulfill his family's name. So far, that has not been the case. We hope that being trained, even temporarily, by the Yellow Flash will finally awaken his responsibility in him."

"How does his mother feel about that?"

Uchiha looked a little surprised by the question but he shrugged.

"She is soft on the boy. She doesn't understand the responsibility that comes with possessing the potential for an awakened Sharingan."

Minato nodded. At least the child had someone.

"I will treat the boy the way he should be," he answered, voice inflectionless and Uchiha seemed to think that meant the same thing to Minato that it did to him because he relaxed slightly.

"Good then." He turned to leave and something in Minato roused.

"Uchiha."

"Yes?" The dark haired man turned back to him.

"How is Mikoto?"

The other man's face tightened and there was a flicker of hurt through the red eyes before his expression went blank again.

"She has been ill lately. She assures me she will recover completely and that I may see her then."

It was more information than Minato had expected but the other man obviously thought Minato was privy to more of Mikoto's life than he was. At Minato's nod, he turned on his heel and strode off. Minato watched him go and his brows came down over his eyes.

"Mikoto doesn't get sick," he muttered and in his arms the fox stirred.

"She is not sick, Yondaime." At his look, she rested her head on his shoulder and watched him. "I smelled it. When she came to you, she was carrying a kit inside."


	12. Chapter 12

_all right - time for the kids! couldn't resist them :) **weehoo107** - I missed your review last week but I know, despite ourselves, life happens sometimes - lol. What can you do? and, eyep, Itachi shows up - er, kinda. This is a prequal and I don't have any intention of taking it all the way up to the events in the manga. Cause, dang, that would be a forever long story! This story is just about Minato finding his fox, and how it kind of sets his life up for what it becomes afterward. Once he gets resolution with his fox, we'll leave them happily going on with their lives and the story will stop (though I may put in a final chapter that jumps forward in epilogue form and kind of give my theory on what happened to Kushina after Naruto's birth). also - huzzah! I didn't make you feel bad for anyone in this chapter. ;) **mc **- I adore your reviews, you know that and your double reviews are absolute chocolate on my sundae. Sprinkles too! You put so much thought into what I'm doing and why (or sometimes the case is what the characters are doing without my say so and why - lol). I'm glad you feel for Minato so, you entirely understand what's going on in his heart when he won't even look in that direction himself. Not yet at least. He's too self-aware to let himself stay blind for too long. Falling for someone is scary, especially anticipating promised departure straight from the beginning. I like that 'flexible' fox and 'solid' Minato both compliment and need each other. Interesting point on that low center of gravity too. I like it :D and yes, he does seem to have a need to touch her. His body knows what it's doing even if his head refuses to acknowledge it. **velo!** - somehow it just made sense to me that she couldn't read ;) glad it made sense to you too. and I love Sarutobi - he plays the 'sympathetic old man' so well, yet he's clever as - well, a fox - lol. Anytime I let him and Kushina get together they talk over Minato's head - about him, no less. And, so glad you caught that. Yeah - mutual admission of 'like'. They're working toward it. And, don't worry, Minato picks up on a lot that he doesn't react to immediately, only files away for later use. Those dang thoughty, logical types - lol. And - ha! - dang Itachi getting in there. No fear - we won't have to wait five years for resolve between Minato and his fox though ;)we shall continue with fluff in the meantime... **tennisdesi91** - thank you. That was a wonderful compliment. I am trying to tie present and future together without overdoing the 'future' part. and if I'm doing a good job with the chemistry than I'm doing the main point of the story right. It's good to hear because all writers wonder if they shouldn't be doing more or differently sometimes. You made me very happy - thank you. **helloheart** - hello! lol welcome to the party - or at least the vocal part of the party ;) grab a drink and join it :D and thank you. I'm having a lot of fun with Minato and his fox. Despite himself, I think Minato is too ;) ** nikki **- hey you. Pull up a chair and get comfortable. Glad you're enjoying the ride so far. I promise, it gets better ;) and now - let's get things rolling with 'they don't know it yet Team Minato'.  
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Chapter 12:

Minato had only dozed lightly for most of the night. He always slept light before a mission and apparently, his constant waking annoyed his fox… who put her paws over his nose in a threat to smother him if he kept it up. He'd finally fallen asleep deeply when she'd moved so that her softly furred chest rested against his cheek and he could hear the sound of her slow heartbeat and her crooning where she'd buried her muzzle in his hair. It had probably looked awkward but he'd slept soundly from that point on.

Now he was sitting under one of the many large trees just outside the gates of the village, arms folded loosely across his chest, chin tucked down, while his fox was inside, waiting for the slower moving merchants to wake and start preparing to leave. They'd been held up longer than they'd expected in Konoha waiting for their escort further on and Minato didn't expect them to be too fast.

His first charge arrived with barely the sound of folding grass under his feet and Minato lazily looked up to find the boy standing a good distance from him, all shocking white hair and black eyes.

Hatake Kakashi… The son of the White Fang of Konoha. According to reports the boy was a genius. Minato had been accused of being the same thing at that age too though and it earned his sympathy but not his respect. Now he watched the slender boy watching him. For a long time, there was only the sound of the breeze through the grass and the leaves and the sound of the nearby river. The sounds of a waking Konoha had not yet begun. Finally the boy moved over to where Minato rested and bowed formally.

"Namikaze-san. I am Hatake Kakashi. I will be your student for this mission."

Minato nodded and gestured with a turn of his hand. Cautious the boy settled in the grass near him, back stiff and hands resting loosely on his knees. Minato tucked his chin again and closed his eyes.

His next charge arrived shortly afterward, heralded by the swish of grass and a cheerful call to the boy next to him. It was a girl and she came to a stop in front of Minato as he raised his head and bowed, hands folded in front of her.

"Good morning, sensei. My name is Akimichi Rin." She had a smile that reached her eyes and a pleasant chime to her voice. The edge of Minato's mouth went up a little. His fox would like her, he could tell.

"Good morning, Akimichi. Would you like to join us while we wait for the rest of the team?"

"Yes, thank you, sensei," she settled down near the silver haired boy who nodded his greeting but didn't relax his tense posture or speak up. Apparently they'd been a team long enough that she was used to it because she pulled her knees comfortably up to her chest and tipped her head back to watch the birds in the branches nearby. Minato's lips relaxed and he closed his eyes again. Nearby, silent, the silver haired boy shifted the smallest bit and the edges of Minato's lips curved again.

"Close your eyes, Hatake," he stated softly.

"What am I searching for, Namikaze-san?" the boy asked almost immediately and Minato's lips curved a bit more.

"Nothing, Hatake. You're just closing your eyes."

He could sense the confusion – and the suspicion that this was a test – coming from the boy but he ignored it and settled back in to wait. After a little bit, the girl shifted over onto her back.

Minato knew he was probably supposed to be running them through tests or quizzing them on their knowledge or even trying to form some kind of bond with them – but he didn't. They'd show him what they knew much better than they could tell him and they would decide how they felt about him on their own. He was along to keep them safe… and to help them become Jonin that would survive and be an asset to Konoha.

"He's late," the silver haired boy said after a very long time. Minato opened his eyes and saw a dark haired boy sprinting up from the bridge toward them. The shinobi was late and that was a good way to get your companions killed. When the last member of the party skid to a stop in front of him, bent over with his hands on his knees, Minato didn't say anything.

Breathing hard, the boy managed:

"Sorry, I'm late, Jonin-san… there was a small child that was lost. I had to help her find her home."

"Uchiha," Minato drawled the name slowly and the boy inhaled and straightened at the sound of it. Minato paused and then nodded. "You may join your companions. We are still waiting for the caravan we are supposed to escort to arrive."

"Namikaze-san let you off lightly," the silver haired boy told his darker haired companion when he'd joined them.

"The Yellow Flash? _He's_ our team leader?!"

"Obito, we talked about this the other day. You remember?" the girl prompted. The dark haired boy made a noise and plucked grass.

Leaving signs of his passage…

"I must not have been paying attention."

"One day your not paying attention will get you killed," the silver boy droned and Minato sensed a fight brewing. He had to wonder how long they had been working together as a team if they were still squabbling like this. Scooping up his pack, he rose to his feet and started to pull it on. To their credit, the youths behind him scrambled to their feet as well.

So… they paid attention to their team leader… he should have asked what had happened to the man…

A minute passed in which they must be wondering why he'd stood and he simply waited and then the silver haired boy nodded.

"Here they come."

As caravans went, Minato thought this one was abusing the name. It was a collection of six carts pulled by plodding oxen and overseen by a large round man that liked to squawk. The hold-over in Konoha hadn't been a bad thing for the man's business; Konoha was one of the largest villages on the continent and prosperous. He's found plenty of homes for his wares and traded or bought more to sell further along. Minato had heard Jiraiya tell stories about vast caravans that stretched for hours. Though his sensei might exaggerate, Minato knew that – once – trade routes had been more full and what was in front of him now would have been swallowed up in a greater group easily. Things weren't so safe now though and the lines between lands had become rocky and harsh. Merchants still took to the ancient trade routes… but they took to them in small groups that could move quickly and without drawing undo attention. Not wealthy enough now to employ their own soldiers, they hired out.

To shinobi like the ones from the Hidden Leaf Village.

The carts rumbled passed them on the packed dirt road and as the first one went by there was a flash of red and his fox, in her human form, hopped down from the seat with a grin and landed lightly in front of him. Her loose hair swished like a tail over the shinobi flak vest she wore and the headband from the Whirlpool was in place around her thigh.

She looked, Minato realized, beautiful.

His cheek got a passing nuzzle and then she was over to where the children were. Silver and black hair got equal affectionate ruffling and then she brought her nose down close to the girl's.

"I love your cheek marks."

Then she was gone again, bounding forward to catch at the first wagon again and clamber onto it. Minato watched her go calmly and then turned his attention on his students. The girl was blushing, the dark haired boy was looking run over and the silver haired one was scowling but refraining from trying to smooth his hair back into place. The edge of Minato's mouth twitched.

Yes. He thought it was going to be an interesting mission.

"All right," he addressed his team. "I know you've already been briefed on the mission. One shinobi take position with the first wagon, one for the last to keep an eye on behind us and one will take a middle wagon to be available. Walk or ride, just keep up. We'll take turns scouting ahead by twos. I'll rotate your positions throughout the journey. It's up to you who goes where once I've assigned the scouts. Hatake, you go with the Whirlpool on scout duty first."

With a few 'yes, sir's the team broke up to take their positions and Minato fell in step near the merchant in charge of the caravan. They'd already talked last night about routes but he'd do it again each night until they reached their destination. From the corner of his eyes he caught a flash of red and knew that his little fox was off. He had no idea what her Chunin skills were but he also had no doubts about her ability to carry out a mission of this nature. Whatever Hatake picked up from her, he was fairly sure it wouldn't be standard shinobi operating procedures though.

He didn't think it would hurt the boy.

Unexpectedly, the dark haired boy took up the position in the back while the girl settled in the front wagon. The last wagon was the one that had to deal with the dust from the passage of all the wagons before it and Minato had already resigned himself to being in that position for most of the trip. Seeing the Uchiha boy there though had him raising his eyebrows and he let his steps fall back so that the last wagon caught up with him. The boy was squinting and had his arm over his nose and mouth against the dust. Minato walked next to where the boy was riding for a little bit and then gestured. The Uchiha boy hopped down from his perch and fell into step next to Minato. Minato slowed his own steps so that the dust from the wagons passage carried ahead of them and the air was breathable again.

The dark haired boy immediately started to rub at his eyes. Which were black. There was no awakened Sharingan then. After a moment of watching the boy's eyes tear, Minato asked:

"Why did you take the back wagon?"

Uchiha sniffed but it was at the water in his eyes and not in tears.

"Rin was going to take the back wagon," his voice was muffled by his sleeve as he scrubbed at his eyes. "It would have made it hard for her to breathe."

Minato nodded and reached into his pack. Without a word, he handed the boy the scarf he'd intended to use to cover his own nose and mouth.

"Ride sitting in the back, facing out that way so you see where we've been. It will help with the dust."

Slow the boy took the scarf from him and looked at it. Minato picked up the pace a little to bring them back to the wagons and the dark haired boy stretched his legs to keep up.

"Why was Akimichi going to take the back wagon?" Minato asked as they neared it.

"She wants to make a good impression on you," Uchiha peered up at him. "So she wants to do all the hard work so you'll see we're a strong team."

Minato nodded and watched as the boy hopped up onto the back of the wagon. He strode forward while Uchiha was tying the scarf in place. Thoughtful, he pulled himself up to ride in a middle wagon, resting his hand over his nose to block out the dust and falling into the familiar lull of watching his surroundings while letting his mind drift over what he'd learned about this little team so far.

When the caravan stopped for a rest that afternoon, his little fox came back with the silver haired boy on her heels. Hatake looked… jarred and the fox looked smug. Minato raised an eyebrow and didn't ask. His little fox settled on her heels in front of him and he offered her the stuffed bread he'd been eating. She took it with a pleased sound and Minato watched as the silver haired boy settled on his heels next to her. Very close to her in fact and she broke off a chunk of the bread for the boy. Minato watched Hatake take it and pull down his face covering to start eating. The boy looked… very much as Minato remembered his father looking except leaner and thinner.

"Everything's clear?" he asked and his little fox nodded, reaching out to ruffle silver hair again. The boy's eyes still narrowed and his chin lowered but he looked less averse to it than he had before.

"I'm teaching Kakashi to hunt with his nose," his fox told him proudly. "He has a very good nose." Minato's eyebrows went up again and he looked at the boy – who was looking both proud and embarrassed at the same time. Minato thought he could sympathize with the feeling. The other two Genin came back from making sure the area was secure and joined them. Minato noticed that the girl ended up between the two boys. He reached into his pack and passed out more of the loaves. The bread would spoil in a day or so if he didn't and he always liked to start off his missions with as much real food as he could before he had to revert to field rations.

"We'll take a rest here," he began as they ate. "Two of you can sleep, one of you can stay awake and watch over the caravan. Kushina and I will scout outward to look for potential problems. Once the – "

"Namikaze-san?"

It was the silver haired boy and Minato stopped and looked at him patiently. The boy shifted on his heels.

"This is our mission, Namikaze-san. We want to show you we can do it. Please – let us scout and stand guard while you and Uzumaki-san rest."

Minato paused and thought it over. They were still children and their stamina wasn't going to match his or his fox's. They were also a team, which meant that each member pulled their own share of the work.

They were also a team that had recently lost their sensei and were desperate to prove that they could still function together as a squad. He nodded.

"All right."

Two of the children's faces at least reflected smiles. Hatake just let his shoulder relax… just a little. It softened the edges of Minato's mouth. There was very little danger this close to Konoha – Minato was pleased to see the children taking their job seriously though. Finished eating, he stood up and nodded.

"Wake me in half an hour. That should be enough time."

He received nods in return and then he found himself a spot outside of the clearing the wagons had taken up. Propping his back against a tree that left him safe from being surprised from behind, he folded his arms over his chest and shut his eyes. A minute later the nearby grass shifted and he opened an eye to see his fox joining him. Sitting in his lap facing him, she tucked her legs up on either side of his hips and snuggled close against his chest. His arms went around her without needing conscious thought.

The way they were pressed together really wasn't helping him relax…

Nuzzling, she tucked her face into his throat and exhaled in contentment.

"I like these children," she murmured and he grunted.

"You like all children."

Her exhales of laughter tickled his neck.

"So do you, Yondaime."

"They're good children. They'll be good shinobi. One day."

It was silent between them for a long time and he felt her body begin to relax against his, her exhales whispering against his skin.

He wondered how she would react if he dipped his head and pressed his open mouth to her pale throat.

"Little fox?"

At her hum, he looked down at her.

"Why didn't Fugaku know what you were? His Sharingan should have revealed you for what you really are."

"What am I?" she asked and a gold eye peered up at him though she didn't move her face. His fingertips lifted a long strand of her red hair.

"A fox."

She made a lightly dismissive noise but something in the coloring of her eye looked… disappointed and he didn't know why.

"I am me." She said it as if it were obvious. "He saw me. I am me when I wear this body. I am me when I wear fur. Just because you change from one shirt to another does not make the first shirt any less your shirt. He saw me."

"Did he see your eyes?"

The gold winked at him, looking pleased and she tucked her face back into his throat with a dismissive noise.

"He is Uchiha. They think they already know and see everything. It doesn't occur to them to look where they don't expect anything." After a minute more, she added dryly: "And he wasn't looking at my eyes so much as my position with you when he looked at me anyway."

Minato probably shouldn't have found that amusing. He did anyway. It was silent between them for a long moment and then she spoke again without moving her face.

"Yondaime?" her voice was soft and he hummed to show he was listening.

"Why do you send your kits out to become warriors before they're even full grown?"

She was still wrestling with the idea that they trained their children to be killers.

He didn't blame her.

"Because it's the only way they'll survive long enough to be full grown." He didn't like the answer and perhaps some of that leaked out in his words despite himself. She lifted her head, just a little, to look at him. His hands on her tightened.

"It's the way the world is. Each village has shinobi and each village fights the other villages – for pay, for pride, for security. It's a cycle that none of us can break because the first one to break it will be swallowed whole by all the other villages. Each death breeds more pain and violence and the need for retribution but no one will stop it because no one is strong enough to make everyone stop at once. It's the ninja system itself. One day it may destroy everything unless someone finds a way to bring it to an end." He rested his chin on the top of her head. "We train our children because if we wait until they are adults to start, they'll be too slow and too far behind the other villages' shinobi and they'll be killed."

"You hate that…"

He nodded.

"It's been prophesied that my sensei will be the one to find the student that will bring an end to the shinobi system." He shook his head. "But whether that is in peace – or in flames – no one knows. I want peace for Konoha and its children… but not the peace of the grave."

She made a soft, thinking noise against him and then raised her face to rub gently against the underside of his jaw. He shut his eyes and stroked a hand down over her hair.

"Sometimes I find it surprising that you humans decide to have kits at all," she whispered softly and he made a noise in his throat.

"It does have a way of happening," he muttered dryly, wryly aware, all over again, of the way she was sitting in his lap. Her fingers curled in the fabric of his vest.

"Is Mikoto's kit yours?"

His chin came down but all he saw was the top of her head and her red hair spun out across them both like a blanket.

"Little fox…"

Her voice stayed small.

"Is that kit the one we are fighting to save? Is that your son inside her?"

Something about her voice made his chest hurt like a laceration and he reached up to curl his hands around her suddenly frail feeling shoulders. They were curled inward and he gently pulled her back from him, dipping his head to bring it close to hers. Gold peered up at him under the shadow of lashes and it seemed a very liquid gold, pale and yellow.

She couldn't possible… she couldn't possibly be… hurt?

No. Hurt would imply she loved him and foxes – they didn't love. They couldn't.

Or else he was twice damned.

"Of course not," he answered in complete truth. "I've never bedded Mikoto. She's my friend."

"You won't mate with anyone but a friend, Yondaime." Her miserable answer told him how well she knew him already. And made him wonder how long she'd been wondering about Mikoto's child.

"Yes," he agreed, finding his chest strangely tight. "But not her. Never her." Her eyes said she didn't believe him and he finally gave up.

"She was always my friend. But she was too… gentle. Too delicate. She is a good woman but I always felt… guilty when I touched her. As if I was soiling her somehow. Even if it was just a touch to her hand or her shoulder. I felt as if I was – I felt – foul."

It was quiet between them for a very long time and Minato realized he would have felt embarrassed to let anyone else hear him talk like that. Finally she raised her face to him and, very gently, very hesitantly, the top of her nose nudged the tip of his. The air he was breathing seemed thicker suddenly.

"You don't soil me…"

"No," he agreed, shutting his eyes as her nose continued to nudge gently against the side of his jaw, his cheek, the edge of his mouth. "Never."

"I am already foul?"

His eyes snapped open and he stared at her in shock.

"No!" It came out with more emotion than he was used to letting show and he caught her face in his hands. With an effort, he steadied his voice. "No, little fox. With you… I don't feel dirty inside when I'm with you." He stroked his thumbs over her cheeks as he looked down into pure, burnished gold. "You're fire, little fox. No one could ever tarnish you."


	13. Chapter 13

_first and foremost - happy Valentine's day (aka Singles Awareness Day) to all my gentle readers and best beloveds. I would have loved to have this be a highly romantic chapter to suit the spirit of the day but alas, only the usual level of fluff. **crazylikeanko** - heh, glad it made you happy. More to follow ;) **cholericdolphin** - sad and happy? That means I must be doing something right. Right? lol and I will update every Sunday - so here you go! **velo** - you caught that? Yes, his first realization that she's 'beautiful' - lol. Dense he may be but things eventually get through. And when they do - well, he's Minato. He has to analyze them. Hopefully we still love him anyway. And thanks - originally (and my beta suggested) Rin was going to be an Inuzuka - but she's missing the eyes and the giant dog - siiigh. Akimichi seemed the default with her cheek markings and her gentler nature - despite the body type ;). Glad it works. **tennisdesi91** - glad you approve. Yep, I did want to make the interaction between Minato and co. a bit thin. Given Minato's personality and the fact the children only see him as transient (Kakashi in particular) it seemed sensible that they'd all have a period of time when they were carefully 'feeling out' each other. Bonds seem more believable if you let them grow, right? **awkwardlyawesome** - hey you! glad you're enjoying. Yeah, Minato never struck me as a Naruto clone (or the other way around). The kid's supposed to take after his mother's personality, his father's looks. I'll admit, it's a lot of fun exploring (and putting in my theory) on what both of his parents were like. Glad the foxy is working for you :D Also, more Team Minato in this - and _some_one is finally starting to warm up to the idea ;) **mc** - I'm never going to be able to reply to your reviews the way they deserve. I adore the points you bring out. You summarize them better than I ever could. Yes, things are starting to fall into place, little pieces of the puzzle for Minato. And fox. If you remember my rant on my LiveJournal of a little while ago, shortly after this chapter is when Minato decided to change all the story rules on me and do his own thing. Oi - but don't things get interesting for me after he did ;) **bylaternlight **- sometimes I have to throw builder chapters in there. They're not as much fun but they seem to be the only way I can further future ideas. And - Kakashi isn't done with his lessons yet. ;) Poor kid... As always thanks to **Jini** for making sure I've got my facts straight!  
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Chapter 13:

Over the next few days they'd moved out of the forests and were almost to the border of the Land of Grass. Minato sat on one of the large flat stones that dotted the region, breaking up the endless expanse of long grass and took first watch for the night. Whether they wanted to prove something or not, the children needed their sleep and Minato didn't. ANBU were used to operating without for long amounts of time and this mission wouldn't be any challenge at all compared to what he was used to. He could afford to go without sleep for a little while.

Especially when going without sleep didn't mean going without rest. He might be sitting upright with his legs crossed in front of him and his back straight, but he could close his eyes and rest a little. Against his own inner chakra, he could feel the flickering reflection of each of the living creatures nearby. He recognized them and let them slide into his subconscious so that his awareness would register only an alien chakra or else a flare of deep distress from one of the familiar ones.

Somewhere, far off in the grasslands, he felt the steady whir of his little fox's chakra as she hunted through the grass on paws, clothed in fur.

His little fox…

What was he doing?

Finding a magic beast to barter his soul off to had been an act of desperation – but one that he'd thought carefully through. He'd weighed the angles and the risks of it and done it anyway. He hadn't –

He hadn't counted on finding himself sold to someone he would care about. Someone he would…

He hadn't included his heart, as scarred and valueless as it was, as a part of the bargaining. He hadn't counted long dead emotions as a factor. He was using her, just as she was using – or would use – him. Theirs was a business transaction; at most, it was a summoning pact with him playing the part of the summoned beast. Involving anything beyond that only tangled things.

And it was his damn fault.

She'd certainly kept her part of the bargain. Better than that in fact. She was the one that played things light and affectionate without heat, bent on him 'liking' her. Intent only on his friendship. If she was casual with his touch and her body… she was only a fox. How did she know what was considered 'too intimate' to a human?

_He _was the one that kept pushing things between them. He was the one that had assaulted her after his ANBU mission. He was the one that needed his hands on her. He was the one with thoughts that were now regularly starting to slide into dark hunger when they drifted toward her.

He was the one that didn't correct her innocent gestures when what they did to him had nothing to do with innocence.

He was the one at fault and, worse still, it was due to his lack of control, which he had thought he'd long ago mastered.

If he had any kind of self-control, he'd use it to put some distance between them instead of waiting for her next touch or the anticipated brush of her body against his.

If it was lust, he would simply let go and have at her. She was kitsune – seducing men wouldn't be new to her.

He realized his breathing had gone low and silent and that his eyes were open and narrow over nothing more threatening than the moonlight reflecting off the bend of grass blades.

He didn't like the thought of her with anyone else. They couldn't care about her as she was, they wouldn't have seen beyond the face, wouldn't know the sound of her croon or long for her chirps of pleasure. They wouldn't…

They wouldn't care about her the way he did.

Because he did – care about her. That was the problem. He knew how to get lust out of his system. Caring about someone though… he didn't know how to make that stop. He didn't know how to make it go away.

He didn't know how to convince himself he _wanted_ it to.

"Sensei?"

He was glad of the interruption and he turned his head to look at the girl. Rin. With a nod, he acknowledged her and she climbed onto the surface of the rock near him and sat back down. When she didn't speak right away, he turned his attention back to the flowing grass and let her take her time. After a minute, she drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them.

"Don't be too hard on Obito."

He turned his head to look at her and saw she was refusing to return his gaze. As far as he knew, he hadn't been either hard or soft on the boy. If his treatment or the mission so far was something the boy considered 'hard'-

"I know the Uchiha clan think he's a black sheep," she continued softly. "But that's just because he doesn't do things the way they think he should. He's really very brave when it comes to other people."

Minato waited a bit longer but she didn't offer anything else. Watching the blades of grass ahead of him, he stated:

"Before I came on this mission a member of the Uchiha clan came to me. He requested that I treat the boy as a member of the clan should be treated." He turned his head to look at her and saw she was worrying her lower lip. And still not looking at him. Voice gentle, he told her: "I said I would treat the boy as he deserved to be treated." He paused. "I have."

It took a moment but then big brown eyes rose to find his face.

"You don't need to play peace-maker all the time, Akimichi. Uchiha is a strong boy and capable of making his own impression." In the distance, a fox barked and his lips twitched wryly. "Not everyone judges based on name or even face."

He expected her to leave then but instead, after another long moment, she scooted just a little closer to him.

"Sensei…"

He turned his head to her and made his listening noise. She was worrying her lower lip again but she was watching him as she did so. He waited. Finally she weakly asked:

"Why did you agree to take us? Everyone else found excuses not to."

For a long moment, he simply watched her. It hadn't occurred to him that turning down the Hokage's request was an option. It had never occurred to him to turn down watching over a squad of youths. They needed someone; the Hokage had asked him. There were no questions after that. His voice was gentle.

"You needed a teacher, Rin."

She looked at him and for a moment, he had the disturbing impression that she was either going to cry… or hug him. Instead, she simply blinked and then nodded, giving him a weak little smile before she slipped off the rock and made her way back to her bedding. He checked the threads that flowed out from him to register the others chakra but nothing had changed.

He wondered briefly, how anyone could turn their back on a child. Any child.

The grass nearby rustled and he felt the familiar fur and paw feel of fox chakra moments before the grass parted and his fox, in human form, hopped lightly up onto the rock next to him. Apparently, somehow, her clothes survived the changes her body went through, he noted absently.

"Did you find anything?" he asked as she padded silently over to him and crawled into his lap, knees resting over his crossed ankles as she pressed her back into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned forward a little to surround her more. She shook her head.

"No people. Not lately at least." She paused and tipped her head a little. "The squeakers are restless though. They keep popping out of their holes in the ground."

"Don't mice usually come out at night?"

"Yes," she was frowning. "But not in jumps like they are. It is as if there is a snake in their burrow – but it is happening in every burrow I passed."

"Something underground?"

"Or happening far away so that only the vibrations are left by the time it reaches here."

He nodded and looked out at the horizon. From here it looked silent and peaceful. He picked up nothing out of the ordinary with his chakra web. She was rubbing her long hands down over his forearms in slow motions, as if she were smoothing the lumps out of unbaked bread. It felt soothing and so he didn't ask why or try to stop her.

"Yondaime…"

He made a humming sound to show that he was listening and she turned her face into his throat. He waited but she didn't add anything and after a while her fingers stilled and her breathing started to slow down into sleep. It made him smile and he shifted his eyes to watch the horizon again, careful not to disturb her.

Yes. It was his fault things had gotten as carried away between them as they had. At least he was the only one that was aware of that fact.

He was still awake to watch the sun start to shimmer on the horizon and his three little shinobi crept up onto the rock to join him for it. If they thought it was unusual to find their teacher and their escort Chunin in an embrace, they didn't mention it though Minato did notice that the silver haired boy watched it with a slightly puzzled look in his dark eyes.

"Breakfast first," Minato instructed them while his fox slept. "Then Hatake and I will scout ahead. The rest can decide on their positions with the caravan, same parameters as yesterday. Uchiha, ride somewhere other than the last wagon today. We'll meet up again for the noon rest period and trade positions. Grasslands are different than forests. Keep an eye on the tops of the grass for movement that goes against the way the wind makes it sway and when you are out in it, watch out for snakes. They grow big here and they may be bolder than usual."

If something was bothering the mice, it was possible it would aggravate the snakes as well. Tall grass made it hard to see as low as your feet.

The children gave him their confirmation and his little fox stirred in his arms as they left. The members of the caravan were just beginning to wake. Knowing her waking habits, Minato loosened his arms a bit from his fox and she proceeded to stretch in such a long, complete way that it had his own back twinging to do the same.

It also made his fingers itch to run over the sleek skin and muscles that showed when she arched.

With an inward reprimand at himself, he got to his own feet and hopped off the rock. She didn't need the help but he reached for her anyway and she let her hands find his shoulders so that he could pull her down. It turned into a hug in the privacy of the far side of the rock that went on longer than he should have let it.

"Keep an eye on the children while I'm gone," he murmured into her hair and she nodded against him.

"I'll teach them how to find the right kinds of beetles for eating," she informed him cheerfully and he dipped his chin to look down at her, fighting a smile.

"Is that what you did to Hatake yesterday?"

"Maybe," her smile and her eyes were both mischievous. "He takes things too seriously but he is a good boy."

"Yes," he agreed, releasing her and nudging her temple lightly with the top of his nose. "So don't abuse him too much."

She laughed at him and nipped the tip of his nose before bouncing away to disappear around the rock. Minato exhaled and reached into his own pack for the fruit he'd brought. He was just finishing it when the silver haired boy appeared silently at his elbow. Minato looked down at him.

"Today, we follow the old trade route the same direction as before. Last night the Whirlpool found no trace of danger when she scouted it. Scouting through grass is different than trees though. Do you want to follow or take the lead today?"

Solemn, the boy looked at him and then out at the endless ocean of gold and green. He gave the boy time to weight his options.

"I think I would like to lead today, Namikaze-san."

Minato nodded.

"Then I will follow, Hatake."

The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent both keeping an eye on the surrounding area and on Hatake. The boy was good, very good. Much better in fact than children his age were supposed to be but then again, the boy was already Chunin rank, far ahead of his age-mates in skill apparently.

Minato would have been surprised if the son of the legendary White Fang had been anything else.

There was a rigidity to the way the boy performed the expected maneuvers however. They were performed flawlessly… but there was no flexibility to them. Each time he made a sweep or examined the surrounding or any other motion, it was an exact duplicate of the previous time.

It was a good way to become predictable enough for an enemy to anticipate you.

Finally he joined the boy and rested a hand on his slim shoulder.

"Hatake… shut your eyes."

Those dark eyes flickered to his but the boy did as instructed. Minato rested his arm over his upraised thigh and settled onto his heels, his other hand still on the boy's shoulder.

"Tell me what you sense."

The boy was silent for a long moment and Minato was in no rush. They were far ahead of the rest of the caravan.

"The wind is coming from the north. It is dry so there is no rain on it. It will carry our scents back toward the caravan but not to anything waiting in front of us." The boy's voice was flat and factual. "The grass is dry but it is still green at its base. It will spring back if we don't put too much weight on it, hiding our trail but also hiding our enemy's trail. The dirt is thin and doesn't take tracks well. I don't hear anything beyond the way the grass moves and us."

When he stopped Minato gave him a moment and then prompted:

"And?"

"And – " brows wrinkled over closed eyes. "And we are allies with the Village Hidden in the Grass but it is still strange we haven't run across any of their shinobi yet so close to their border. If we do run into trouble it will be hard to defend the caravan out in the open like this. The grass is still green at its base but a flash fire would be very dangerous as well right now."

He paused and Minato finally prompted again:

"And?"

"And – " the boy was obviously struggling now but he kept his eyes closed and his features composed past the knotting of his eyebrows. "And we will need to find water for the oxen soon."

When Minato didn't answer, one eye finally snuck open and fixed on him.

"Namikaze-san?"

Minato nodded.

"You made good points. Now close your eyes again." Reluctant, the single eye slid closed. Minato gave the silence a minute to return. Voice low he asked:

"How does the sun feel, Hatake?"

It was silent for a long moment and finally the boy spoke, voice quiet and unsure.

"Hot? No… warm. Good. As if I am baking but slowly. It – it has weight. I can feel it pushing down on my shoulders and my back and my head. It feels – nice."

"Good," Minato kept his voice soothing. "How does the grass smell?"

"Warm. It – smells like the sun feels. It smells… dry and baked but not dead like hay. It smells… big. Vast. Forever. I smell… I smell – it smells like the dirt."

"How does the grass sound?"

The boy's answers were coming easier and faster now.

"Like the sun feels and the grass smells. It sounds… lonely. Empty. When the breeze moves through it, it sounds hollow."

"Very good," Minato let the approval leak into his quiet voice. "Now… Kakashi… without opening your eyes – tell me where the lion is hiding."

Under his hand, the thin shoulder jumped and almost – almost – the boy opened his eyes. To his credit though, and Minato's pride, he didn't. Instead he lowered his head, just a little and went very still. Minato stayed still as well and waited. After a very long time, the boy's head began to turn, first one way and then the other. After another long minute, he finally spoke.

"To the east. The grass doesn't sound hollow there."

Minato let himself gently squeeze the boy's shoulder.

"Very good, Kakashi," he approved with his voice. "She's been there for a while so she's not stalking but we'll go scare her away so she doesn't get any ideas about the oxen. You'll find her smell and her heat feel different on the grass where she's been dozing too."

Black eyes opened to peer up at him with the light that a new discovery always brought in them and the edges of Minato's mouth relaxed into a smile.

"Sometimes we get so distracted with what we've been taught we forget to pay attention to the way things feel." He let his hand drop but the approval stayed in his eyes and his voice. He motioned. "Come on. We'll make noise when we head that way and see if we can't get a peek of her before she disappears to somewhere quieter."

He thought, perhaps, the boy smiled – just a little.

"Yes, sensei."


	14. Chapter 14

_just so you know, gentle readers and o best beloveds - this is the chapter in which Minato decided to entirely change the story idea on me with just one line of dialogue. I thought he was a gentle muse compared to the others but he's tricksy. and - wow, what a lot of new readers and reviewers. Reviews are tasty and keep me warm :) **tennisdesi91** - heh, I'm having fun building everyone's relationships. Must be left over from the kid in me that loved playing with legos, building things one block at a time. **writing bunny **- welcome to the party! As cold as it's been lately in some parts of the world I'll offer both soda and hot cocoa while you get comfortable. And thanks! I was going to go traditional with the story (childhood friends/rivals/whatnot, etc.) but Kushina wanted to be a fox. And I will definitely have to include an epilogue. Just too many loose ends that will need tying ;) **mystic 777** - lol, yeah I didn't know about the lion either until Minato mentioned it. You don't get a lot of Minato/Kakashi interaction in the manga - for obvious reasons - but I always got the idea that Minato became a kind of father figure for him. I like building so its fun to build the basis for that relationship. And, I'm trying to stay canon (no one ever SAID Naruto's mom wasn't a kitsune - lol) but I won't deal with the issues I know we'd all like to avoid until the epilogue and even then I hope to leave a good feeling behind. I'll warn you before I do that though. This story is about Minato falling in love though. That's as far as it will go - well, the falling in love and making things right afterward. ** velo** - yes, Minato takes a while to get to a point sometimes but he doesn't waver once he's headed that way. I just don't see him being much of an angsty guy. He seems too practical - and he's had to do too many hard things in his life - to waste a lot of time on that kind of thing. And I'd like to see anyone make Kushina in this angst - lol. Thanks too - I'm not getting to play with it as much as I'd like but I'm enjoying the Minato/Kakashi interaction. I think Minato makes a great teacher and I think he'd make an awesome dad. Kakashi needs both and I think Minato needs to be both even if he doesn't know it. Not much action - ehem - this chapter but I've got a fight brewing next one! ** by lantern light** - :D thanks! it was fun to write. maybe I'll do a couple of teaching one shots for the two of them after I finish this. **bukkakenojutsu** - wow - possibly highest compliment ever. Welcome to the party and thanks! **mc **- heh, yeah, Minato's not dead yet but he is starting to live, isn't he? Intentional or not, the fox is a good teacher and you know Minato's a harder student than any of his kids. He's worked his way to some conclusions in this chapter as you already know ;) and small, furry animals in laps are excellent for working away lumps and stress. Most small furry animals. I think Kushina's done the opposite here. **darchias **- thank you kindly. I shall endeavor to continue. ** jini** - my favorite fact checker! yeah, Minato's a self-analyzer when it comes to his emotions. I'm glad if his struggle is understandable though. Rin, she's sweet to write for. I kind of imagine her being the default speaker for the party considering the boys - lol. The kids are hungry for someone to love and to love them but they're also guarded. I'm glad the trust and affection building is coming through. **redfe** - welcome and pull up a chair. I'm glad you like my interpretation of Minato. He really won't write any other way for me and instead of being boring, it's turned out to be a lot of fun to write him this way. He's learning how to balance his heart and his head - or perhaps he's finally finding something in his heart worth balancing. annnd - I cannot help but feel as if I've forgotten someone in my replies. man, I hope not. Forgive me if I have and shout it out. I'll do a double reply next chapter for you :D Now, on the Minato muse subversion!  
_

Chapter 14:

The shinobi for the Village Hidden in the Grass showed up at their camp the night after they had crossed over the border. Minato was eating the stew his students had made and he suspected it was Rin's fault it tasted as good as it did. His fox was off chatting happily with several of the caravan drivers – about ox riding as far as he could tell and he was trying very hard not to think about why she would be interested – and the camp was already settled and safe for the night. Kakashi appeared at his shoulder, moonlight shadows arriving early in the dusk.

"Someone's coming, sensei," he murmured and the very edges of Minato's lips twitched upward. The boy was observant even when doing something else.

"Yes," he agreed, voice just as low. His fingers were resting on the ground where he sat in front of one of the large flat stones. "Four of them."

"What do you want us to do?"

"Tell Rin and Obito to disappear. You stay with me."

Of the three of his students, he thought Kakashi was the one with leadership potential. Rin was a medic-nin and would never be able to be on the front lines. Obito was better at support. His heart was too tangled up in things to make calm decisions in the split second they were sometimes needed.

Kakashi turned and a hand gesture had his two teammates vanishing into the grass. Minato was pleased because it meant they had been paying attention to the situation. He also noticed that his little fox's fluttering chatter had disappeared and, stretching out, he could feel her foxy form sliding through grass without disturbing a blade of it off to his right.

She would probably make a bad team member in a group where the captain of the team wanted to control his shinobi like game pieces but for him – he was confident in her abilities and content to know that she would be there when she was needed. Kakashi settled down next to him and folded his legs in imitation. Minato politely set aside his dinner and waited.

One of the hidden shinobi started making his presence known by intentionally rustling the grass long before he was in range and Minato's lips relaxed. It was always better to err on the side of caution when approaching strange nin on a mission. It didn't mean he let his guard down entirely either though. Because it was always better to err on the side of caution when being approached by strange nin on a mission as well.

When the man parted the grass to step out and stand in front of them, Minato dipped his head in acknowledgement and the other man bowed a little in polite response. His forehead protector bore the symbol of the waving grass that surrounded his village. He also looked – to Minato – haggard and the edges of his clothing was frayed.

"Shinobi," Minato greeted him and gestured and the man sat down across from them. Behind them, the caravan continued with their nightly routine, completely unaware there was a visitor.

"I am Namikaze Minato, this is Hatake Kakashi. We were hired from the Village Hidden in the Leaves to escort this caravan to your border."

Most of which could have already been gleaned or was official knowledge but it was polite to offer it. The other man nodded.

"I am Watanabe Hotaka of the Village Hidden in the Grass. I apologize for not coming to greet you sooner but we have been having problems with the Earth Shinobi lately."

"More than usual?" Everyone knew the shinobi for the Village Hidden in the Rocks were… fanatical. It came, he thought, of both environment and leadership. The Grass shinobi nodded but it was a passing thing.

"They flare up like wildfire every few years. It is nothing the Grass cannot handle."

Minato nodded and refrained from smiling at the assertion. The Grass had been handling the Iwa-nin for decades now.

"There is plenty of food. If your team would like to join us, we still have dinner. We can mesh forces tonight and tomorrow we will give the caravan over to your protection."

The other man nodded.

"The Leaf shinobi are always polite to a fault," he commented with a smile and Minato's lips relaxed a little. The other shinobi let out a whistle that sounded like the birds that made their nests out of baskets to hang in the grass here. Three children rose from the grass nearby and came forward. Minato thought they looked a little ragged at the edges as well. He made no comment on it.

"Kakashi, take our guests over to the fire and make sure they all have enough to eat. Ask Rin to make more if you need to."

"Yes, sensei," the silver haired boy was on his feet and guiding the children toward their fire. Minato watched them go and Wantanabe watched him but the man made no comment. It wasn't polite but Minato turned back to the other man and stated mildly:

"They look… young."

Wantanabe would not answer though.

"Grass nin mature quickly."

Minato made a noncommittal sound and gestured as his fox slipped from the grass in her human form.

"My companion, Uzumaki Kushina, from the Land of the Whirlpool."

The other shinobi's gaze moved over her as she trotted over to settle on her heels behind Minato and he made sure to intercept that look as she rested her folded arms on his shoulder and settled her chin there. The other man caught the meaning in his own eyes and he smiled a little and nodded.

"My team will stand watch while yours rests and eats," Minato offered. "Tonight we can set up dual teams to keep watch."

"A kind offer. Thank you." The Grass shinobi rose and, with a nod for the fox, moved over to join his team at the fire.

"Rin and Obito are in place," the fox murmured and then lowered her face to nudge at his throat with her nose. "And what are you doing?"

He made a noise and she nipped lightly at his neck.

"You smell aggressive."

"Then poking at me probably isn't a good idea."

She huffed her amusement at him – and nuzzled against the side of his throat as her arms shifted forward to drape over his shoulders.

"He was looking at me and you didn't like it."

"How do you know he wasn't looking at me?" he asked dryly and she chuffed her laughter, fingers twining against the fabric of his flak vest. Curling close around him, she pressed her nose to the curve of his ear.

"I am yours, Yondaime. Only yours. That is part of our binding." Her voice was soft and it whispered warm against him. "A kitsune only belongs to one man at a time. Never, never more."

He found her slender fingers with his own and his eyes didn't move from the grass he was watching.

"For how long?" there was no emotion in his voice when he asked it.

"For as long as we are together," she answered. And then his ear got a last nudge and she was passed him and into the grass again. He thought he caught a flicker of fox tail before the golden blades swayed back into place to let her disappear entirely.

For a long time, he watched the grass without moving and he didn't trace his little fox's chakra.

Kakashi finally came and settled near him. For a long time the boy didn't speak and Minato let the silence rest. Finally, choosing his words carefully, the silver haired boy stated:

"Sensei… those – Grasslanders…. They are too young. They haven't even gone through their tests yet."

Minato nodded and didn't look away from the swaying grass in front of him.

"I thought so. They're also poorly equipped. How did they eat?"

"As if they haven't in a while."

Minato turned his head to look at the boy next to him.

"Kakashi, I want you and the others to befriend the Grass children. Teach them what you can without being obvious. But I want you to listen too. Something is going on in this region. I would like to know what before I return to the Hokage."

"Yes, sensei."

The boy was gone immediately and it took Minato a long moment to realize… he liked being called 'teacher'.

Focusing back on the immediate, he ran through facts in his mind. It was possible that the group with them now were not in truth Grass shinobi but rather bandits or shinobi from a different nation. However dressing up like nin from somewhere you weren't was a deathly fast way to see you, your family, and possibly your entire village killed. Not to mention, most bandits weren't small children trying to look like adults. To him, their chakra felt a great deal like the chakra from other Grass nin he'd met in the past. So he would go on the assumption that they were who they said they were.

Which meant, either the Grass shinobi were not taking care of their appearance to outsiders – or they were dealing with harder things than frayed sleeve hems.

Watanabe had mentioned trouble with the Iwa-nin. His little fox had indicated the animals, at least the ones that lived underground, were jumpy. Guessing – he would guess that something was going on in the Land of Earth. But guesses were dangerously two edged.

He would still report what he'd gathered – and what his students gathered tonight – to the Hokage when he got back to Konoha. A great deal of making intelligent decisions came from being informed.

That night he let his students take charge of the situation. The only way they would learn to operate on their own was if he gave them the space to do so now while they still had him nearby as their safety net. So he was pleased, as he watched them and didn't interfere, to see the way they brought everything together and covered all the positions that should be. He was, perhaps, even more proud of the way they included the Grass children without leaving them responsible for anything of import. Once he was sure things were in order, he brought Watanabe over to the head of the caravan and introduced the two men, leaving them together to talk about plans and strategy as he went to his usual spot and leaned back against one of the wide, sun warmed stones for the night.

He trusted his students. He still wouldn't be sleeping tonight. Chakra came easily to Minato and there were very few times in his life he'd ever exhausted it temporarily. More than that though, it was the control of it that he prided himself on. Precision was one of his trademarks.

He still had a strong supply even without sleep or the chance to rejuvenate it and so he let it slip down through his fingers and spread out in its usual net, taking the time to attune himself to everything it touched as it spread. At its very edges, he felt his fox's humming chakra and felt her pause as his touched her. Not many people could pick up the brush of his chakra when it was this light and spider web thin but somehow he wasn't surprised that she could.

He wondered if he could use it to manifest as a physical touch, even across the distance between them. His mind immediately suggested trying it, and in a way that would have made his pervert of a teacher proud. Eyes narrowing, he clamped down hard on his control and withdrew, leaving his sensory net spread wide but otherwise alone. When Watanabe joined him shortly after that, he was glad of the other man's company.

"You should be very proud of your students," the man told him. "They're very competent."

It was one of the highest compliments and Minato's lips relaxed a little.

"They're not mine. I'm just teaching them. They lost their sensei."

"Ah. My apologies. They seem quite taken with you. The dark haired one will not refer to you as anything other than a very possessive 'my sensei'."

It made Minato smile, just a little, and he exhaled.

"They are good students. I am very proud of them."

It grew quiet between them for a while and then the Grass shinobi spoke again.

"I've heard of you."

Minato made a noncommittal sound low in his throat.

"You're Konoha's Yellow Flash. They also call you Konoha's Single Man Army."

Again, Minato just made a sound and continued to watch the swaying grass in front of him. Watanabe shifted a little next to him.

"Do you – hire out your services to other countries, Namikaze-san?"

Minato turned his head and looked at the other man for a long minute. Finally, voice inflectionless, he stated:

"If my Hokage decides so, then yes. I have never been asked to before though."

"Your services are probably very expensive, I'd guess."

"Perhaps." Minato looked back at the grass in front of him. The truth of the matter was that ANBU were not often for rent. They were too important, and too rare a rank, to be used for countries that were not their own. He did not tell the man next to him so though. Instead he was hoping that Watanabe would tell him what he thought his country would find so important, and so dangerous, that they would have to hire an outside nin of Minato's reputation to deal with it. "I would expect that would rely on what was being asked of me."

Watanabe didn't offer any more information however and after a moment, he shifted subjects yet again.

"I haven't seen Uzumaki-san lately."

Minato made a humming sound and offered nothing else. It was quiet then and Watanabe looked at Minato from the edges of his eyes.

"I suppose asking if she would like to join me for the night would be out of the question."

Voice flat, Minato replied:

"It would be suicidal."

"Ah." Watanabe's intonation said it all. "My apologies, Namikaze-san."

"Now would be a good time to go check on your charges, Watanabe."

"Yes." The other man stood up and with a nod for Minato went back toward the camp. Minato ignored him other than making sure the feel of his chakra didn't double back when coming near him again wouldn't be a wise choice.

Alternately, his charges stopped by to wish him goodnight before they went out on their guard assignments and he locked the signature of their chakra into his mind and traced strong lines out to wherever it stopped. Tonight he would have to watch them without being able to hear the sounds of their sleeping breaths. They were well trained – and he would still stay awake and alert until they were all safely back with him again.

The night wasn't too far along before his little fox came back to him, stepping out of the grass on two human legs instead of the four fox paws he was fairly sure she'd been running around on earlier. If she had been playing games with him, she should have stayed in the camp and flirted with the Grass shinobi. Instead she'd disappeared.

He liked 'disappearing' better.

With a little huff she dropped down onto her heels in front of him, fingers spread between her feet. When she shook her head, her hair swayed.

"Nothing. Except all the squeakers and snakes and burrowing birds are scared."

He leaned forward to wrap his fingers around her hips and pull her into his lap that way.

"I'd go deeper in and see for myself what's going on except I have the children with me. They're not up to a trip all the way into Earth Country without being detected and if things are edgy, it would put Konoha in a bad position if they had to come extract some of their shinobi for being uninvited guests."

She fit herself to him and relaxed against his chest. After a minute she wiggled around a little bit – which did nothing to help him relax – and then she took off her vest before she unzipped his so that she could burrow in closer. He spread his hands over her and pressed to still her once she was settled. She made a soft crooning noise and he felt her body go soft against his.

"I can go," her voice was drowsy and her exhales tickled against his throat. "No one will bother a fox."

He'd already thought of that.

"No," his voice was quiet and low. "You're not an official part of our village yet. If anything happened to you, it wouldn't be our right to interfere."

"Nothing will happen to me. And Konoha would not have to do anything if it did."

Unintended his hand slid down and rubbed slow against her thigh where he knew a pale, toothed scar circled it.

"_I _would have to do something if it did."

He felt her shiver against him and there was a low whining sound in the back of her throat.

"That's not our bargain, Yondaime." Her teeth nipped at his jaw line, restless, and she squirmed against him. He spread his hands and pushed again to still her but he could still feel the tension in her body. It woke up something in him that usually slept unless he was playing the part of ANBU and he dipped his chin to look down at her.

"What do you know that I don't, little fox?" his voice had a rumble to its edge.

"A great deal," her voice was muffled against his chest and he let his fingers squeeze slightly where they curved on her. She shivered again and didn't lift her head.

"Only that you should not protect me. It is _dangerous_ for you to protect me, Yondaime. That is not part of our deal. Humans are not safe in the places I sometimes walk."

"I don't remember agreeing to our deal because it was safe."

She squirmed again in protest and he locked his arms down across her body in hard bands and spread his fingers wide to press them into her.

"Little fox," his voice was very soft. "If you keep moving like that I am going to find us a bed of grass out of the children's hearing range and I'm not going to stop until I know every inch of your body from familiar repetition and you've lost the ability to make noise anymore."

Possibly for the first time in their acquaintance, she went absolutely frozen and still. He couldn't see her eyes – but he was willing to bet they were huge and unblinking. Despite himself, it shifted the edges of his lips upward. After a minute more, her voice, with a little bit of a squeak to it, asked cautiously:

"Really?"

"Really."

There was another long pause in which she didn't move. After a minute, curious, her voice, muffled against him, asked:

"Would I enjoy it?"

"Yes. A great deal."

The shiver did move through her then and she made a soft, weak noise that had him automatically smoothing his palm down the curve of her back. He didn't do anything else though and after a long moment, she lifted her head enough so that her eyes could peer at him from their tops.

"We're not going to."

"No."

Her exhale whispered out of her.

"Because you don't trust me."

He threaded his fingers through her long hair and knotted it around his fist. Very gently, he gave it a light tug and, finding her gold eyes with his, he answered:

"No. Because I'm going to make you fall in love with me first."


	15. Chapter 15

_well, I promised a fight. Granted, it's not much of one but it's some action at least! **tennisdesi91** - I don't know if 'routine' is the word I'd use but there's something very comforting - like warm soup on a chill, gray day, about seeing familiar names pop up in my review box every week. new faces are great too - but I feel as if ones that come back time and again are companions who don't mind being on this weird journey with me. Glad you liked the last chapter and yes, Minato is... succinct - lol. **weehoo107** - welcome back! RL happens to us all, despite ourselves sometimes - heh. Just glad you're still here. And you're right, reviews are delicious to little author souls. Minato... ah, Minato writes himself and sometimes I have to sit back in my chair and go - 'oh, crap... you're doing it again, aren't you?' to him. I adore him for it though and I'm glad. Restrained can be sexy. It's the quiet ones you've got to watch out for, you know? awww, you make me blush. Good thing it's so cold outside that the heat on my cheeks feels nice :D **premium audrey** - heh. You make me gloat. I'm glad. Minato derailed my entire story with that last bit but it was so good I had to let him get away with it ;) **none() **- thanks. I'm trying. **mystic 777** - thanks for the head's up on my 'known'. I read these things I don't know how many times but after a while I know what they should say and I automatically fill it in no matter what they really do say. Yeah, Watanabe was seeing which way the wind was blowing. He managed to make it out alive though - lol. I always saw Minato as efficient and logical and observant - but also sympathetic and compassionate. I wanted both parts to show so I'm glad if it came off well. And - yeah... everyone seems to be enjoying that last bit. I'll admit, I fell for it myself and didn't even realize he'd totally screwed up what was supposed to be the plot of the story until halfway into writing the next chapter - lol. Dangerous, sneaky, attractive muse. **bukkakenojutsu** - thanks! hope this one makes you happy too. **writing bunny** - reviews are good for an author's soul. Good for the emotions (generally) and a nice burst of confidence to add to the insecurity most writers have naturally about their work. I also always feel as if I've got friends on the playground with me sharing in the same game. Makes it all the more fun to write and look forward to posting. It seems to take a while to build them though - at least the good reviews. I think this story started out with four the first chapter and that's because I had a couple of friends agree to review - lol. Ever since then I've been getting new reviewers one or two at a time and my regular reviewers are wonderful enough to stick around and talk to me every chapter. I think, like most things in life, it's a matter of continuing and building as you go. I'll never understand people that say reviews don't matter. 'Cause, sure, we write for ourselves - but we share 'cause it's fun! and - ooooh, good questions. I like the way your mind works. Yeah, it did occur to me about Kyuubi. He actually does get mentioned later on - chapter 20 or 21 I think? Not exactly what you suggested but I love your idea too! Sneaky clever. And - heh, I think you're the only one that's asked. There seems to be no name. In fact, when she gets in with her family it seems to all be familiar relationships but no distinctive names. let me tell you, it's made writing those chapters a challenge that's for sure. **velo!** - hehe - yeah, Minato couldn't stay in one place forever. That and he's one of those people that thinks a thing through from every angle and then one day, out of the blue, seems to suddenly make his move. I agree with you about the frustration with relationships that just won't move anywhere. I finally had to give up on an otherwise really good story in my other fandom simply because the writer had the couple living together YEARS after they'd gotten together and never seeming to develop into a real relationship. By the time she started slowly inching toward it - I'd stopped caring. Besides, Itachi's going to be born in nine or so months - Minato can't wait forever if he wants to get Naruto more than a twinkle in his eye ;) and, hope the fight doesn't disappoint. I wanted more action but Minato's such a dang nab thinker! **crazylikeanko **- yeah, I think Minato surprised us all with his declaration. I know he surprised me! lol jerk didn't give me any warning before he popped out that line. I think he'd been building to it a while and just playing it close to his chest. Then again, I think he might have even surprised himself ;) **bylaternlight **- lol. A plan so cunning we could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel? **jini **- lovely fact checker extraordinaire! yes, I'm fond of possessive!Minato myself. though now he's confused the heck out of his little fox - lol. I suppose he finally got to the point where he weighed his options and went with what was most important to him. Smart boy ;) And who can resist Team Minato? They're so freaking cute! **mc **- yep, that was what he threw me a loop for that I was complaining so loudly about a while ago. dang sneaky muse. he's still calmer a muse than Cloud though so it's all comparative. does the little fox love him? Or is she just pretending? Minato's going to make it a point to be sure, that much he can promise. And - heh - you make me blush. In a good way. I'm glad my guys are - mm, 'well scripted' - lol. I swear sometimes they throw things in just to see how I react. I seriously think Minato and avatar!Cloud are egging each other on. In a totally 'no, I'm not even paying attention to what they're doing' way. lol_

Chapter 15:

She avoided him the entire trip back to Konoha.

He wasn't surprised or particularly upset. He kept himself occupied with the children.

"Sensei!" Rin skipped back to join him as they traveled through the more familiar venue of forests and he tipped his head down to her to show he was paying attention. They seemed to have gotten used to his non-verbal cues and she smiled up at him.

"I picked you some honey-bee flowers," she offered the cheerfully colored bouquet to him and he took it curiously. Wondering why one of his students was giving him flowers. She cupped her hands behind her back and swayed, smiling up at him as she skipped backward to keep talking to him without interrupting their strides.

"You can pluck the flower out of the stem and suck on the end. It tastes like honey."

"It tastes – sweet?" he carefully separated the flower from its stem and she nodded, watching as he put the end of the petals between his lips and rolled it carefully with his tongue. There was the distinct taste of honey, he realized and watched her face light up even more as he nodded at her.

"Big sister likes salty but I knew you liked sweet better," she chirped and spun to dance back up to her place in line, eyes roving the foliage as they walked. He watched her go while he rolled the plant to the corner of his lips.

They were apparently calling his little fox 'Big Sister'. And she also apparently liked salty things. Leave it to an Akimichi to know.

"Rin's great!" Obito opinionated from just in front of Minato. He had his arms stretched up to fold them behind his head as they walked. "We'll never starve with her around. She could even make bark taste good."

The girl in question beamed and darted off the path to collect something else that had caught her eye. This deep in Konoha territory Minato didn't have to keep an eye on his charges. He still followed the trace of her chakra mentally. The same way he was keeping track of his little fox in her foxy form as she slipped through the woods to the side and a little ahead of them. It was two nights now that she hadn't slept with him. Her jumpy nature the passed few days seemed to indicate it was wearing on her and that pleased him enough that he could tamp down on his own annoyance at sleeping alone.

At least he had the children to keep him distracted. By avoiding him, and since he was with the children, avoiding them, his little fox was doing without social interaction. Considering what he knew of her, he suspected it wouldn't be too long for her to give in and come back.

He hadn't been joking, he mused as he rolled the flower with his tongue absently. He hadn't said it lightly either. Part of their bargain was seduction. And if she wasn't going to – he would.

It was a stupid move on his part. He wasn't unaware of that. But he'd thought it carefully through and decided that he wanted her. For himself. For keeps.

He wanted to be the cause of foxy eyes and chuffed laughter and tightly gripping fingers. He wanted to be the source of her crooning noises, her surprised squeaks, and her burnished eyes. He wanted nipping teeth and smooth backs that needed to be scratched and nudges with her nose.

He wanted to watch the gold in her eyes go molten and feel her shiver in pleasure for him…

That wasn't all though. He wanted her in his kitchen each morning as he made breakfast. He wanted the pad of fox feet on his bed each night. He wanted – he exhaled silently and rolled the flower again.

He wanted her.

He just wanted her.

He'd never wanted a woman before, he thought as his eyes absently kept track of the children. He didn't count physically wanting to be with a woman. Physical needs and hungers were passing. You were hungry, you ate, you grew hungry again. Or you didn't 'eat'. The body was nothing but a tool and he didn't count its physical reactions as important passed the fact that they told him about the world outside of himself.

He definitely wanted her physically.

But that wasn't all he wanted from her. It wasn't even the beginning of what he wanted from her. He wanted everything that she already gave him, except he wanted more of it. He wanted all the things she hadn't given him yet too. He wanted her to need him. He wanted her to turn to him. He wanted her to trust him with herself. All of herself.

He wanted all of her.

He didn't think she'd give that much of herself willingly to him though. The flower twirled absently as he thought it over. She gave herself… but she kept parts of herself back from him. She made him think about himself and how she made him feel and distracted him from thinking about her.

That was going to stop.

Simply telling her so and then expecting a change wasn't going to work though. Besides, it didn't seem… fitting. One side of his mouth rose slightly and he almost laughed at himself.

Was he actually contemplating trying to trick a kitsune?

He'd never backed down from a challenge before. And he might actually enjoy this one…

The corner of his mouth was starting to shift upward again when he felt it and everything suddenly fell away. His fingers snapped quickly and the children in front of him froze in reaction to the traditional signal. Something was going wrong on the edges of his senses…

Like a shadow he slipped off the path and his charges followed his lead. Following the thin stream of his chakra he reached out for his fox, while he split his concentration to stretch out a thin web of chakra to search the area better as he went to a knee, finger touching the ground. Three things registered to him at once. One – the disturbance he'd felt contained more points of chakra than he could keep track of. Two – his little fox was right in the middle of them. And three –

He'd felt this chakra signature before.

The newest scar across his shoulder blade twitched at the memory and his eyes went wide in shock and than narrowed dangerously.

No.

No. He'd destroyed the creature that had carried that chakra signature and made corpses dance. He'd beaten it and then he'd used his own chakra to utterly disperse the rotted parts that had given it form.

It shouldn't exist outside of his troubled dreams at night.

It certainly shouldn't be here and threatening not only his homeland but the ones in his care.

"It's coming this way," his voice was low and level as he spoke to the children, shrugging out of his pack and loosening the straps on his kunai for easy accessibility. Their eyes were huge but he gave them credit in that, even though he saw fear, he saw no panic or lack of determination. "This is not a village matter. Your duty therefore is not to confront it but to survive it." He drew his chakra into himself as he spoke, letting it flex and flow in preparation. Somewhere ahead but approaching rapidly, he felt the beat of his fox's energy. "Keep to the trees. Defend each other and leave the rest to me. Kakashi, you are responsible for the squad."

The squealing noise, high pitched and grating, cut in over his last words. It filled the woods around them and echoed off the trees, a rushing wind of screeching sound. Minato had time to categorize the sound as being higher pitched than the last time he'd heard it and then the dark forms came rushing out of the foliage and dropping down from the trees around them. Caught in the very center of the whirlwind however, drawing most of the dark shapes to it, was a flashing blur of red and black and gold.

His little fox.

He had a moment, and only a moment, to thank whatever merciful deity bothered care – this time the creatures driven by the sickly cold and oily chakra… they were bats.

Fast moving, awkward bats. Bats that scuttled forward on all fours, wings used as limbs, mouths wide to reveal rotting teeth and bitten through tongues. They moved with mindless determination, darting forward in black moving waves, more than he could count or even pinpoint. And their shrill screaming threatened to pierce his eardrums.

He was grateful.

They were bats.

Not children.

Built like bats, they were faster than the children had been.

He was still faster.

So much faster.

His hand flicked and the first wave went up in flames as the combat scroll unfurled and released its power. Next he sent the first wave of specially marked kunai into the moving mass of creatures and as he followed the chakra signatures on them he touched the small moving bodies as well. The marks that let him transfer himself instantaneously quickly filled the area given the amount of moving, rotting, scuttling bodies. As naturally as breathing after years of perfecting it, he folded space, moving into the heartbeat between seconds. Black furred bodies, still twitching, fell in a steady rain through the empty spaces he had already moved through and his hands were coated in fire and ice as he scorched and froze their bodies into pieces. It was the only way to stop them – because they were already dead. Pain or missing limbs wouldn't slow them. He had learned his lesson the first time. With a quick jutsu, he sent an eddy of wind out, catching up the creatures that were massing to the right of the children and sending them with body crushing force into the ancient trunks of the trees before he moved back into the bulk of the fight.

The angle the creatures all came from pointed in one direction.

He thought he'd destroyed the source of the dead attacks the last time. Eyes blue fire, he was determined that this time, he would.

He reached his fox to find her almost entirely coated in clinging, clawing bodies. He knew that, unless they were utterly crushed, their fangs and claws never stopped digging and gnawing deeper into flesh. As covered as she was – she should be incapacitated. The thought sent a surge of fire down through his usually ice cold veins. She was not only still entirely attached to her body parts however, she was still moving almost unhindered. He found the source of chakra that connected the bats to their maker and reached out with his bare hand to catch it. It burned his skin – and he sent his own chakra shooting back along its trace, severing the connection.

And warning the creature at the other end… he was coming for it.

His little fox didn't stop in her motion as the bodies dropped from her. With some kind of wind or compulsory jutsu she pulled the bats down from the tree branches they climbed over and out of the bushes they ran through, drawing them all to her. Her long fingered hands, nails suddenly prominent, crushed them as she dragged them close.

Little wonder she'd gotten so coated. He saw little blood evidence though.

He let himself look for that, made one last check of the children – and then he pushed it all away from him. His attention focused and spread and there were no bats, no children, no fox. No emotion. There was only the trail of controlling chakra and someone at the end of it.

Minato gave chase.

At the other end of the attack, they felt him coming. The chakra started to draw back and two hulking creatures that smelled of rot and a sharp, evil smell he recognized but couldn't place rose in front of him. They might have been human once; they might not. He didn't waste his time that way. They were branches and he wanted the root. He was passed them before their oddly disassociated bodies had even finished unfolding enough to find him.

The chakra was concentrating. It was trying to retreat. It was too late. No one was fast enough to outrun him.

This time – he'd make sure this particular nightmare stayed dead.

And then the world suddenly blurred and screamed like a cyclone.

Minato reacted on instinct, folding space and slipping between the cracks of it before his mind even realized what he was doing. Nothing should have been able to touch him, moving between moments the way he was. Yet something still tore at him with the pull of rushing wind and some kind of vacuum. For a split second – he felt its clutch and it almost had him.

Then he was clear. The world was dropping back into place around him and he was next to one of the marked kunai he'd previously thrown. The forest was silent. He dropped immediately, fingers spreading against the solid earth under his feet despite the fact that his stomach was bucking and the sweat on his skin was cold. What had just happened – shouldn't have. It made no sense. He was untouchable when he moved in his own special jutsu. His eyes narrowed to slits and he sent his chakra out in a wide burst, intent on finding the source of that vacuum.

There was nothing. No bats, no sick, dead chakra… no swallowing black hole. Not even a flicker.

He checked closer, bending low to send his own energy surging… but it was gone. All of it. Gone as if it had never been.

Another impossibility. Yet there it was.

He let himself have a single moment to exhale through his teeth in anger. Then he straightened and headed back to his charges.

The children were taking care of each other and the various bites and gashes they'd gotten. He checked them first. Obitio had almost lost several of his fingers and Rin was working her healing jutsu, weaving flesh and bone and muscle back together well enough to hold until they reached Konoha. Kakashi's face had welts across it and his forearm protectors were dented. Rin had been protected by both of the boys, a sensible move considering she was their only medic-nin and had gotten by with only a few scratches and bruises where dead bodies had impacted with her. Minato gave them each a quick touch, a hand on the shoulder, a look from his eyes that met theirs and made sure of them. Then he moved over to where his little fox was crouched down a little off the path, sorting through small furred bodies.

She was rested on her heels, legs drawn up near her body, arms in front and for a moment, approaching, he could almost see the weaving tail. Her pale hands were bringing bodies to her nose and then tossing them away. Searching for something. She also had a second coat of bats on her, not as thick as they had been previously but still far too many of them to be ignored the way she was. He went to his own heels in front of her and caught her hands and she raised narrowed golden eyes to him but it wasn't anger that narrowed them. Her brows were down low and knit together. He ignored it and pulled her exposed arms forward so that he could inspect them.

Under his fingers where the furred bodies weren't, the pale skin shifted in a constant rippling motion, barely visible.

He frowned and rested his knees on the ground as well, pulling her forward and she made a noise of annoyance through her nose.

"What's this?" he asked, voice flat and hard to clamp down on the emotions that threatened to leak. Her lips twitched despite it.

"They gnaw."

His eyes narrowed but that was all as he held her arm still and carefully began removing the remaining bats from her slender arms. Their rotting bodies broke apart under his fingers. There were teeth and claws embedded in her where the bats had already fallen off.

"You're shifting shape to keep them from being able to get a good hold," he surmised and she shook herself as if she was settling fur. One of the bats fell off and he absently crushed it under his heel before settling again.

"They keep trying to tighten on me. I have to keep shifting so they can't."

He watched her pale skin blur and ripple in minute shudders and felt the anger burning in his chest. In response his face went expressionless and his hands were calm as they found the rotting pieces of furred and flesh and began to pluck them off of her.

There were… a great many.

She shifted to settle more comfortably in front of him and patiently waited as he worked his way down first one arm and then the other before starting on her legs. The bats, or more often pieces of them that could still claw or bite, were everywhere and he was thorough and concentrated as he searched them out and broke their holds on her. The body parts began to form drifts around her.

"You are frightening when you are truly angry," she finally commented and he simply grunted low in his throat and continued his work. After a long moment more in which he worked his way over her waist and up her ribs to her chest, she softly said:

"I am sorry. That I ran away from you."

"That's not why I'm angry," he told her calmly and she nodded.

"I know. But I am still sorry. I am supposed to be yours and I have not been acting as if I am."

He snorted through his nose and plucked embedded teeth and small claws from her shoulders before moving his fingers to find them so thick around her throat that he couldn't feel her skin at all under their presence.

"Other way, little fox. I belong to you. And you're not doing a very good job of keeping yourself safe enough to claim my soul at the end of this."

She blinked gold light at him.

"You're… mad at me?"

She sounded so mystified that he coughed a sound, fingers gentle as he plucked.

"No." She knew him well. "I'm angry at whoever attacks children." His eyes shifted to her. "And you. In my own territory. And then runs away before I get to them."

She made a humming noise and leaned in to rub against his throat with her cheek. It loosened the edges of his mouth and he raised a hand to stroke down her hair before going back to lifting away the last pieces of death that clung to her. Under his hands, her skin slowly settled and she raised a finger to point to a few last bits that the shifting skin had hidden. When he'd pulled those free as well, her pale skin only held a few red welts. He smoothed his thumb over those and felt the fire settle into a long, slow burn inside him.

That was twice now he'd face the moving dead and their faceless, formless master. Twice that faceless, formless source had escaped him. And they were much closer to Konoha this time than last. People he cared about were starting to get involved in things…

The little fox suddenly dove forward and caught up one of the fallen bats that looked like all the others to him. Holding it close, she sniffed and then held it out triumphantly to him.

"This one," she told him as he took it from her. "It was this one. It smells different from the others."

He turned it over in his hands. It was the same mix of death and empty shell that he remembered, an unnatural amalgam that made his skin feel foul whenever he touched it. Thoughtful, he turned it over.

"Sensei."

He made a noise to show he was listening and Kakashi squatted down next to the fox. She reached out to ruffle his hair. He tolerated it. Rin and Obito joined him, the latter cradling his now bandaged hand against his chest. Minato looked up at them all.

"I'm proud of you," he told them simply. Then he gestured with the bat creature. "They're rotting. I don't know who controls them but I've fought them before. I want you to think very carefully about everything you remember from this battle and focus on anything that stands out to you. We will be reporting to the Hokage and I want him to have all the information available."

He got their serious nods in answer and he casually stretched his fingers down for the ground one last time. There was still no glimmer of anyone but themselves and the forest creatures. The chakra had even been pulled from the fallen forms of the bats.

He'd felt it briefly though, when the whirlwind had tried to take him. A second chakra. Something new. And something in that strange energy had plucked at his own with a quiet, instinctive foreboding.


	16. Chapter 16

_first off, thanks to all my best beloveds who played temp beta for me. Kunai is now spelled properly in the last chapter ;) Also next week's installment may come a little early as I will be going to an anime convention (go MegaCon!) over the weekend and don't know what kind of time I will have then. If you too are going to MegaCon, drop me a line and we'll meet up. If not, just know that I'm off dressing like a video game character and eating too much sugar but your story WILL come through without fail. ;) Now... **crazylikeanko** - I like to keep plot vaguely important - lol. And action, huh? Okay, you get action in this chapter too (sorry, couldn't resist the bad pun). ** jerrac** - hey, welcome to the party! Pull up a chair and get comfortable. Glad you joined us and yeah, I write original fic too. One of these days my agent may even find a publisher. I'm not there yet but I'm working toward it. Then maybe I'll get to go to conventions to actually meet my readers - but I will still call you guys my best beloveds. **tennisdesi91 **- I did try to throw a lot into the last chapter but I will do my best to have it all make sense by the time the story wraps. I'm glad you enjoyed it though. Action scenes are one of my weaknesses. **mc** - wow, where do I even start answering? well, you've already read ahead on my LJ so you know how things turn out with Kushina. I'm glad, I don't often throw in things that aren't going somewhere. And - heh - 'moving between the moments' was an act of desperation. In the manga, Minato can disappear from one place and appear in another in almost the same instant - but, being pictures and not narrative, it doesn't tell you how that really works (at least I don't think it does). So I kind of had to fudge it and tell it from his point of view. I think your explanation that he's learned to become 'not' is amazing and absolutely perfect. Said it better than I could. and thanks, I'll hunt it down. I have a problem with 'past' and 'passed'. Same way I used to have it with 'then' and 'than' and if I don't pay attention I still use the wrong one ;) **bukkakenojutsu **- I'm trying my hardest to keep this compliant with the manga. Though every time we get a new chapter it could throw everything I've speculated right out the window - lol. I don't intend to get anywhere near the manga in the time line though. Too much to cover and I just want this story to be about Minato and Kushina coming together. Also - good call. ;) yes, yes it was. **writing bunny** - glad you liked it. And - heh - yeah, some of the readers caught that 'secondary chakra signature' too. I really just had to, you know. **velo** - sigh of relief. I always feel nervous about writing fight scenes and your review really made me exhale and relax. thank you, thank you. And now it's back home and I think the fox's head will be a little more understandable by the end - Minato can be very persistent when he's made up his mind about something. You know him well. I also know what you mean about having some fingernails left - mine suffer greatly when I'm waiting - lol. **weehoo107** - should I tell you that my last chaptered story was 112 chapters long before it ended? lol Nah, this one should be a great deal shorter. I've just finished writing chapter 22 and we're getting close to wrapping up one of the two main plot points in it. Unless something changes (read that as 'my characters decide to hijack things and go in a totally unanticipated direction') I would guess this story will end somewhere near the 30 chapter mark. **bylaternlight** - huzzah and wildly waving foam finger! yep, got it in one! you also gave me great relief. Writing fight scenes wreck me because I always feel unequipped for them for some reason (perhaps because I love watching them so much in movies and video games that I always feel as if I can't catch that same feeling in writing). Your review made me feel much better about it. And yes, I'm trying to dovetail this with canon - so it is a bit bitter-sweet when we all know Minato's ultimate fate... and yet... I have plans for that too I will definitely put into the epilogue and I hope my theories are both satisfying and give some hope at the end too ;) **peeka-chan** - I know you're reading this. Hang on,the last bit's a doozie :D and, of course, **Jini **- my wonderful fact checker - I love your enthusiasm for Team Minato. They're so freaking cute and I wish/hope we get to see more of them in the manga/anime. I can't resist them and neither can Minato apparently. _

Chapter 16:

Minato and the Hokage both stared at the bat on the desk between them. The door shut behind the fox as she left with the children. Minato's eyes slowly rose to find the Hokage already watching him.

"How many were there?"

"Hundreds," Minato answered tonelessly. The Hokage rested a single finger on the small rotting body in front of him.

"The same chakra signature as what you fought near -?"

"Yes." Minato hadn't mentioned that in front of the children but given his previous ANBU report and the one they'd given now, it wasn't a hard jump of logic to make the connection. The Hokage frowned and started to rub at his chin before deciding against it as the feel of the dead bat lingered on his fingertips.

Minato couldn't wait to go home and scrub himself clean in the shower. Hard.

"Uzumaki says this body is different?"

"Her jutsu sensed something."

The Hokage made a humming noise and then frowned.

"I'll give it to Orochimaru." For a moment his eyes flickered and he frowned again. "His skills in this area are… impressive."

Minato wasn't sure which 'area' that was. Death? Corpses? Bats? He was aware that his own sensei had slowly stopped talking about the taller, pale man that had been both teammate and friend since childhood. But Minato was also aware that his teacher worried about some of his own methods when it came to protecting the village. He shifted deliberately to draw the Hokage's attention back to the present.

"There was another chakra signature," he offered and when the Hokage's eyes focused on him he reported what he knew about that incident as well. The shock of it had worn off leaving him both curious and speculative but he didn't offer theories to the Hokage. Reports were for facts. Speculation came afterward. As he finished the older man was watching him closely but all he did was nod. Finally he settled in his chair behind the desk and shook his head.

"Every time you go out, Namikaze, you bring me back a basket load of new, sharp edged questions."

Despite himself, the very edge of Minato's lips twitched ruefully.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"We'll send some nin to the Grass. For a 'friendly' visit of course." The Hokage turned in his chair to look out the wide window at the village spread out below him. From on high the carved faces of previous Hokage looked down on him. He nodded. "And some into the Land of Stone. For an 'invisible' visit. Iwa-nin are fanatic. You should always keep an eye on fanatics. From a distance."

"Hokage-sama…" Minato paused and the older man turned to look at him. Minato frowned. "The villages I passed through before I ran into the chakra the first time – there were no children's bodies in them – "

"Yes. You mentioned that. And that you… found the children's bodies controlled by whatever cursed jutsu this seems to be." A finger indicated the rotting bat. Minato nodded once.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." He paused again and then offered: "If I can be so bold, may I suggest sending several nin out to check the caves around Konoha?"

The Hokage tilted his head, causing the hat on it to slant.

"You want to know if these are Konoha bats, Namikaze?"

Minato met the ancient eyes.

"I want to know where the creator is finding his supplies, Hokage-sama. The children were not far from their village when I came across them and they were already rotting. These bats are as well. It makes me wonder how long the jutsu lasts… and whether the person using it needs to keep a fresh supply close."

For a long moment afterward it was silent and then the Hokage nodded and turned back to his window. For a moment… he looked like nothing more than a tired old man and Minato felt both the worry at that and the sympathy. He served Konoha in his own way but the Hokage carried the entire village on his shoulders.

"Yes," the older man answered quietly. "An excellent observation, Namikaze. I agree with your suggestion."

It was a dismissal, as gentle and polite as it was and Minato didn't feel offended or bothered by it. There was just one more thing –

"Hokage-sama," he waited until the other man turned his head to look at him. "May I ask you for one more favor?"

~*~*~

The children were waiting for him when he left the Hokage's office. So was his fox, perched on the railing outside the building. Four sets of eyes turned to him and the expression in all of them was different… and not that different at all. He decided to start simple.

"The Hokage is very impressed with your observations," he told the children. "He thinks you handled the mission requirements and the unexpected situations caused by it well. He's particularly impressed with your observations regarding the Grass children." He went down to rest on his heels in the circle of them and the children shifted to be closer without seeming to realize it.

"He believes you are an excellent team and I agree with him. He has decided that you need a new teacher and he's asked me to pick one out for you."

The looks in their eyes were heartbreaking. Everything from fragile hope in Rin's to worry in Obito's and, perhaps saddest of all, the feigned indifference in Kakashi's as he refused to acknowledge that the outside world could still hurt or help him. Minato stood up.

"I told him I would." He paused as he looked down into their small faces, so much older than they should be, still too young for so much. "If you will help me."

Distrust moved through Kakashi's eyes but Rin seized his larger hand in hers and clung.

"Please, sensei – " she hesitated and he looked down at her and made no move to reclaim his hand. The spokesman for the team, she gathered her courage and plowed ahead. "Please, we would like someone like you. Or Uzumaki-san."

"Someone like me?" he asked, voice inflectionless. "Someone strict and unemotional?"

Rin smiled up at him, shy but honest. Her hand stayed in his where his fingers had curved unaware.

"Someone like you," she agreed. "Who's patient and thoughtful and keeps us safe and lets us grow."

His little fox was making softly chuffing noises and he raised his eyes without moving his head to give her a look. She grinned back at him and snapped her teeth, eyes full of gold light. He looked back at Rin and then at each of the boys in return.

"I might have already suggested someone to the Hokage. I might have already asked him if I could teach this team."

He wasn't sure what kind of reception he'd been expecting but the mob hug he got hadn't been it and he almost lost his balance as not only the children but his little fox threw themselves at him. Even Kakashi had somehow gotten tangled in the pile, stoically refusing to acknowledge the humiliation of being part of something like this but also not making any moves to extract himself either. It washed away the tainted feeling of sickly death and filled him with something much warmer and better.

The sound came out before he was even aware of it, rusty and choked. It rolled in his chest and rumbled his throat. He laughed. Arms full of fox and children and his balance precarious – he laughed.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed and it was obviously spectacle enough that people stopped to watch because when their moving pile had finally calmed he raised his head to find several sets of curious eyes on them. He gifted them all with a blank look in return and they quickly dispensed. Somewhere above him he was aware of his own teacher and the Hokage returning to whatever conversation they'd been having previously.

"Come on," he gathered his charges around him. "Let's go get some ramen to celebrate."

His little fox cheered just as loudly as the rest and hopped up on his back for her ride.

Later that night, after the children had gone home, he sat next to her on the bridge railing and watched the moon shimmer over the dark river water. Her thigh was pressed comfortably against his and her shoulder leaned into him.

"You are happy," she observed, voice soft so that it wouldn't disturb the quiet whispers of the night and he made a humming sound in his throat in response.

"You will make a good sensei."

He made another noise in his throat and looked down into the water. After a minute, he admitted:

"I always thought I was only good for killing things. Watching over the children though is different. It's about life – even if I am just teaching them how to kill," he added after a minute.

Next to him, his fox made a crooning noise and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder.

"You are teaching them how to live, Yondaime. That is not death."

"I'm not sure why anyone would trust me to teach children how to live," he stated after another long stretch of silence. Her chin shifted to rest against his shoulder and he could feel her gold eyes in the shadows. After a minute more, she softly spoke.

"You are a good father, Yondaime."

He made a noise through his nose and looked back at the water.

"I'm a terrible father, little fox. Or at least I will be."

"No," she shook her head and her hair caught moonlight too. Her fingertips curved around his chin and gently brought his face to hers so that he could see her burnished eyes. "You are a good father. You are a good father **now**. You will do anything for your son even though he is not yet born, even though he is just a promise. A hope. You do not think to deny him life and thereby free yourself. Instead you give him life and give him hope even though it costs you everything. You are a good father. You will always be a good father and whatever you do in the future, I can only believe it is because it is something that must be done." Her eyes held his. "You are not a bad man, Yondaime. You are good. Very, very good."

The edges of his lips quirked.

"I'm not sure you're a good judge when it comes to me, little fox."

Her teeth snapped but at the last moment, the tip of his nose got nuzzled instead of a nipped.

"There is no one better to judge you than I, Yondaime."

"Because you love me."

"Don't – " she warned him, turning her head away from his teasing. It was his turn to gently bring her chin back to his and her eyes were wary and vulnerable.

"I've been thinking, little fox. You were following me long before I decided to catch magic."

"Don't," she warned again and it was more emphatic this time, the warning deeper in meaning. It was in her eyes.

"Why?" he asked, feeling something in him coming awake at what that warning might mean to her.

Her lips turned down and her eyes sank, golden half moons in the dark.

"That is not our bargain, Yondaime. I am for knowledge, not emotion. That you like me – that is enough. Stop there." Gold eyes rose to his and they were too large and too hurt. "Please," it was a whisper. "Stop there."

The tug in his chest wanted to ignore that warning but he took it instead and mulled it over carefully, picking at it with logic instead of the emotion she warned against. Her great burnished eyes watched him as he did.

She was right. He had already known that though. Their bargain wasn't about romance, it was about salvation for an unborn child. Once that salvation was achieved, her part of the deal was done and she was free to disappear from his life for good.

She was a kitsune and he couldn't trust anything she did as honest.

Soundless, he slid off the railing, shoes landing silently on the wooden planks. Her gold eyes were breaking but she didn't move as she watched him. With a low sound deep in his throat, he reached out and gathered her off of the rail and up into his arms. She came with a soft sound and her eyes were liquid.

"I thought I was going to have to trick you, little fox." His voice came out gruffer than he'd expected. "But you really have been in love with me all along."

"No," she denied it but her voice was small and broken and she shivered as her arms wound around his shoulders of their own accord. He lowered his head and nuzzled, cheek against hers, nose nudging at the shell of her ear. In his arms, she whined and it was a longing sound. With hardly a thought, he folded space and the bridge disappeared, the floor of his bedroom replacing it under his feet.

"You love me," he breathed against her ear and she shook her head even as her body shivered in his arms and her fingers dug in. He couldn't stop the smile that tugged at the edges of his mouth and he used the top of his nose to nudge gently at the curve of her jaw and then down her throat. Against him she pushed, neck arching for him, back curving in following response and against her skin he felt the smile come to him again. When his teeth nipped her throat, she made a warbling, keening sound so soft and low it was almost silent.

He'd had thoughts of a shower and a long, long wooing but he found himself on the bed with her body under his instead and even the offer of hot water on aching muscles couldn't compete with the feel of her arms and legs wound around him and the sounds she made.

He'd been rough the last time he'd had her like this. This time he wouldn't. But he didn't intend to stop either. Not unless she told him to and the way she clung to him and crooned – he didn't think she would.

It had been… a very long time for him. Somehow, that made this better. Because hers was the only warmth he remembered, her hair the only color he saw and her gold eyes had no other color to banish. Under him she was responsive and soft and somehow it only seemed natural that the quiet smile she'd taught him, stayed as his hands traced over her and he slowly slid her clothes out of the way and off as he used his tongue and teeth and lips to answer the heat of the skin he revealed. In the dim light of the stars, it seemed only natural that her hair should be the color of blood against the moon glow of her skin. Because this time, blood didn't mean death but life instead.

She wasn't lax under him. Here her mix of curiosity and innocence and honesty was devastating. Intoxicating.

Healing…

"You love me," he held her eyes as his shirt fell to the side of the bed, revealing the scars and burn marks that had stretched and whitened since their inception in his childhood. Eyes full of golden tears, she nodded and whispered:

"Yes."

Taking her face in his hands, he kissed her and felt their healing spill against his palms.

"It's all right," he met her eyes again. "I already knew."

The sound of her laughter was gold oil that washed through his veins and he sank back into her to taste it in his own mouth. Her arms came around him and everything simplified into touch and taste and shivery sound. He took his time and kept his promise.

He made sure she enjoyed it. Very much.

The dreams he fell into afterward were hazy and warm and content. Emotions and sensations without form or pattern, just that they were, as his fox would have said, good.

But when he blinked his eyes open in the darkest hour of the night, it wasn't the calm waking of a sated man. Something was wrong and it sang down his backbone like ants under his skin.

There was someone in his room.

His eyes saw the scene but his body refused to move in response to it. A trapped dream, his mind registered it rationally even as he watched the two forms in front of him.

One was an old man with a white beard that fell in a long single stream down his thin body. He was dressed in simple robes that were still enough to pay for the rent on this room for the next three generations. At his feet, genuflected on the floor, was a form he knew and even in his dream, his body tensed for it. His little fox with her blood red hair spread like a pooling river around and over her, dressed in fabric so rich that it whispered like magic of its own. Her pale, pale hands with their precious long fingers were spread in front of the man's shoes, vulnerable and exposed to harm.

There were sounds in the night air but they muddled as if he were hearing them through water. Hisses or sharp barks or whispering croons and once, what sounded like a woman screaming. Many more sounds than simply two throats worth.

His fox was trembling and it roused him, even dreaming, with a dark rage that was stronger than subconscious patterns. He sat up, swinging legs over the side of the bed and the old man turned his face.

He had eyes the color of new bamboo and they slanted upward at their edges.

Just like his little fox's.

The dream snapped out of existence and there was only the darkness of sleep. But Minato had heard the words the old man had spoken.

"Well done. Now bring him to me."


	17. Chapter 17

_early treat 'cause I'm running off to join the circus! Or at least an anime con the weekend. **tennisdesi91** - I'm glad you're enjoying the twists. For someone that's so intent on getting all the details, Minato seems very used to making things up as he goes, with little to nothing to go on. It's odd to write for because he won't ask and so I can't fill in the blanks until they happen. but yes, it is a... fluid relationship at this point, isn't it? **writing bunny** - heh, I'd like to say it's to keep my gentle readers on their toes but actual it's just that the characters seem to like throwing me for loops regularly ;) glad you liked it. **cholericdolphin** - well, I guess it comes down to who Kushina is seducing Minato for, doesn't it? But yeah, it was only a matter of time until the grandfather showed up. It's not like he'd just let her drift when she belongs to the clan. Our two DO need more time together though and I think Minato completely agrees with you on that ;) He can be stubborn when he's made up his mind. **crazylikeanko** - yes, yes, it does, doesn't it? How WOULD one go about seducing a man like Minato? Certainly not any way he'd expect. You'd need to pretend to be someone that appealed to him, wouldn't you? ;) **weehoo107** - huge grins are awesome! and you make me both giggle maniacally and blush profusely. Why - thank you :D I wasn't sure how I'd do with a scene like that. I'm tickled silly that it came out well. After all, teasing's nice but carry through is important too. **velo!** - wow, your reviews are honey and gold. Awesome! Minato is one of the sweetest, most polite muses I've ever had - but he's got a very set way of doing things and he won't change them for me - lol. After how many chapters of debating with himself and going over the pros and cons and telling himself 'no', apparently once he's made up his mind he doesn't hesitate. Though you're right, I didn't hear Kushina protesting either - lol. He seems to ask very little about anyone's past - hers, the kids, etc. I suspect it has to do with his own past and how thoroughly he's sealed that away from who he is now. It does seem to mean he lets a lot of things roll most of us would be asking questions about though. I think... you know, I think he's got that much faith - in her, in him, perhaps even in them. I don't know that he's got grounds for that but that's the feeling I get from him at least. As for the hows and whys of the grandfather - hopefully I'll clear that up and not in too many more chapter either ;) **bylaternlight** - hee hee! yes, yes you can say that. In fact, I'm glad you did. I don't often wander into those areas in my writing, especially not so deeply, so I was nervous, I'll admit. Your review made me grin like the village idiot - in fact, I still am :D and for my rocking fact checker** Jini **- hope I did a decent job with Jiraiya ;) _

Chapter 17:

He was in the kitchen, making breakfast, when she came to him the next morning. The rustle of fabric would have alerted him if he hadn't already been aware of her presence anyway and he turned from the stove to see her wrapped in his blanket and standing in the entry between the hall and the kitchen. She was wearing the blanket like a robe, complete with it tucked up over her head and he was reminded that autumn was approaching and perhaps… perhaps, he should consider closing his windows sometime. Her gold eyes were large in the shadow of the blanket and full of so many emotions he felt it sink barbs into his chest. But he smiled and held out the plate of eggs and fried ham for her. The way her eyes lit had him wondering if he'd suddenly taken second place to eggs and meat and she grabbed the plate with a pleased, chuffing noise.

She still waited for him to serve himself and sit down across from her before she started eating.

They both ate in silence for the first serving and it wasn't until he was halfway through his second that Minato started to slow down. His little fox was making pleased, humming noises across from him and he sipped at his juice and watched her.

The blanket had slipped from her head and fell in folds around her shoulders. She'd done something to it that tucked it in place so that only her slender fingers showed as she ate.

Her skin was glowing.

Under his scrutiny, she started to shift self-consciously and it surprised him. He hadn't thought foxes were self-conscious about anything. She certainly hadn't seemed that way so far. Meeting her eyes he saw they were young and hopeful and worried and questioning. Reaching across the small table he tucked strands of red-gold hair behind the curve of her ear.

"I was an idiot," he intoned and she looked at him in question. "For saying you weren't beautiful."

She made a snorting, huffing noise and looked pleased as she went back to her food.

"You said you liked my face. I knew."

It made him smile as well and he went back to sipping his drink and watching her. Finally he asked:

"How many men have you seduced, little fox?"

Chewing her food, she held up one slender finger. It wasn't a motion to tell him to wait.

He'd had the suspicion.

"Who?" he asked for clarification and her eyes slid him a look as the same finger shifted to point at him. It made something settled deep in his chest and the feeling was surprisingly smug.

"How many have you tried to seduce?"

He almost got a face full of half chewed egg and he caught the salt shaker she threw at him with a laugh of his own. She snapped teeth at him and chuffed.

"You are a bad man, Yondaime," she chided and the sounds of amusement caught in the back of his throat as he stood up and walked over to kneel next to her. Hands reaching out, he turned the chair to face him and watched her eyes start melting into molten gold. Her legs parted for him automatically as he settled on his knees between them and he leaned down and pressed a slow kiss to the inside of one thigh and then the other before resting the side of his head on top of them. Her fingers found his hair and he hummed a content sound for her.

"Yondaime…" her voice was as liquid as the golden oil of her eyes. Her fingers combed through his hair and he didn't miss the steel sunk in the warmth as she added: "_My _Yondaime…"

His hands found her bared calves and slow he began to work his thumbs and fingertips along them, loosening muscle that had tightened with sleep and new activity. She made a softly appreciative noise, part croon, part hum.

"Sore?" he asked, knowing that though he'd been gentle, he'd been thorough. Unused muscles always felt sore the first time. She made a little burbling noise.

"A little. Good sore."

It made him smile against her because she sounded almost smug herself.

"Nothing a routine of practice and activity won't take care of," he murmured, turning his face to press another kiss to the top of her pale leg and smiled again as the sound of her liquid chuffing noises as her fingers wound in his hair. He let them have their moment of peace before stating:

"I've been thinking."

She made a softly listening noise, fingers distracting as she gently smoothed and tugged his hair, no doubt trying to make it spike even more than it already did. He rubbed his palms along her calves.

"I think it's time to go see your grandfather, little fox."

Her fingers froze on him and her body went rigid and still against him. He let the silence grow.

"Now?" it came out sounding less like a question and more like a baby fox's whine. He pretended not to notice and nodded without raising his head.

"Yes," he kept his voice calm and mild and when she didn't answer right away, he finally raised his head, folding his arms over her thighs and resting his chin on them so that he could look at her.

Her face was very pale and hollow looking through the curtain of her red hair.

"Something bad is coming. There are too many rumbling sounds in too many places for it not to be. Before I am needed for Konoha and the coming storm, I need to finish this. It's time to see your grandfather."

The stricken look didn't leave her yellow shot eyes but he watched her chin lift, just a little, as her lips firmed.

"All right." Her chin dipped so that her eyes could find his. "We'll go. And then you will come safely back."

It sounded more like a promise on her part than an observation or even a prediction. He rose to his feet and leaned down to gather her in his arms. Her legs wound around his waist and his hands burrowed under the blanket to find the smooth silk of her skin. His mouth found hers and there was a tinge of desperation and determination in her answer.

"Shower. Hot water." He grunted it against her lips and she whined, legs tightening around him as he carried her.

"You too?"

The way she said it had him smiling against her mouth and his tongue brushed hers.

"Me too," he agreed. As if he'd ever had any intention of being anywhere else.

They ran out of hot water and he suspected there would be some very annoyed nin elsewhere in the apartment complex this morning. He had absolutely no regrets about it at all though as he lay on the bed next to his dozing little fox.

She had a way of going boneless after they'd made love and he suspected it was in a way that only a fox with springs for a backbone could manage. The result was that she looked shamelessly content and sated and relaxed. If he'd needed his ego fed, it would have.

Shifting he slid his arm over her ribs and heard her croon in answer, snuggling back and into the curve of his body. Content, he rested his cheek against hers and shut his eyes.

He hadn't been exaggerating about the storm he could feel coming for Konoha. If he was going to face unknown enemies ahead of him, he'd be damned sure he'd taken care of any of them that might have been waiting behind him first.

He might be her Yondaime… but she was _his _little fox. And no one was going to be allowed to take her away from him.

No one.

He dozed next to her, catching up on his pleasantly lost sleep from last night, fingertips spread against the soft warmth of her stomach. Sleeping with her in fox form was sweet… but he preferred her woman's form against his. The sun-warmed smell of lemon grove was a whisper that moved through his half-dreams. When his internal alarm clock finally woke him, it was still there. His little fox was still there, sleeping soundly, a pleased little smile on her face.

He leaned in and flicked his tongue at the very edge of it and she made a noise as she turned her head to follow his withdraw. It was his turn to smile smugly and he intentionally pulled away. She rolled to follow and it meant she woke to the sound of his near silent laughter as he pulled her into him. Blurry gold peered up at him, pleased and curious and he leaned in to kiss her. Her fingers hooked in his hair to keep him from retreating this time and he gladly gave her what she wanted.

"Children," he managed to grunt against her as her hands began a slow migration from his hair downward.

"Be late," she whispered against his lower lip, fingers applying pressure to the knots of long standing tension against the backs of his shoulders. It drew the rumbling sound out of him but he shook his head.

"I can't set a bad example for them."

Nails were scratching lightly at his shoulder blades, sending shivers through the skin there.

"You stopped to help an old lady across the street. There was a cat stuck in a tree. Some little girl had lost her favorite ball…"

Despite his best attempts she had him laughing and he raised his face to look down at her. Her eyes were sunlight on water bright and her smile was beautiful.

"Fox," it was both her name and a descriptive. The tip of his nose got a playful nip for it.

"Go," she was grinning. "You keep me from sleeping."

"Didn't hear you complaining," he quipped and made her laugh. His shaggy hair got an affectionate tug. Then her eyes softened again.

"Will you keep me from sleeping tonight too, Yondaime?" she asked.

He leaned low and kissed her the way a question of that nature deserved. When he finally drew back she was panting and her eyes were deepest burnished gold.

She also looked immensely pleased and that made him smile as well.

"Good answer?" he teased gently and she tucked her chin and smiled up at him.

"Yes. I'll ask that question more often."

It had him laughing again as he rolled out of bed. In fact, the smile stayed in place through dressing and strolling down the stairs. It shifted, just a little, when he saw his teacher leaning 'casually' on the wall outside the apartments. Minato quirked his eyebrows at the man. Who was smiling just a little _too_ widely.

"You're looking relaxed," his teacher began the conversation and Minato made a noncommittal noise in his throat and kept walking.

Jiraiya repeated the noise and strolled along next to his student, head turned to observe him. Minato ignored it.

"You're smiling too," the older man commented and Minato slid him a look. Jiraiya began to grin. "And you're even less talkative than usual." He started to chuckle. "Knew it was only a matter of time."

Minato debated and finally gave in and asked:

"What?"

"Just sayin'," Jiraiya glanced at the younger man next to him. "That Whirlpool nin is good for you."

Without even realizing it, Minato's lips curved into a smile that spread into a grin.

"She is," he agreed because, while he'd never been one to share information, not even with his teacher who he trusted more than anyone, he wouldn't deny the truth when someone else stated it either.

They were approaching the training grounds and ahead Minato spotted two heads, one dark and one light. Rin and Kakashi. Obito was, not surprisingly, not there yet. He wondered what the reason would be this time. Jiraiya surprised him by suddenly slinging a thick arm over his shoulders and knuckle rubbing his hair the way he had when Minato had been much younger and much less inclined to physical contact.

With a grunt, he managed to throw his teacher's grip and turned to look at the man. It had been a long time since his sensei had given in to emotion enough to treat him like a child.

He thought they both missed it but that was part of growing up, he supposed.

"Sensei – " he paused and thought over his words. "Am I really so… singular that what is happening to me is so amazing?"

Jiraiya's face relaxed a little and went a bit sad.

"I have no idea what your bastard of a father and your uncle did to you, Minato." Minato didn't offer an answer. He never had. He never would. His teacher put both hands on his shoulders and looked sincerely at him. "But you've always been special to me. More than a student, more than a son, more than a friend. I worried about you shutting yourself off from everything. It's no way to live."

Minato listened closely, the way he always did when his teacher's voice changed and he watched those eyes across from his. He'd heard the hints of worry before… but his teacher had never been so forthcoming about it. Perhaps because they both knew he wouldn't have changed. Jiraiya's hands tightened on his shoulders briefly.

"But I see you now and you're smiling. You're laughing. You're beginning to spend time with friends and you're not running away from Konoha anymore and trying to get yourself killed. Look at you. You've even taken students." The pride was unmistakable. "You're so much more than the perfect weapon, Minato and you're finally getting the chance to be that way. I'm proud. And it makes me happy. You deserve to always, always be happy, son."

Jiraiya was the only one that could call Minato 'son' and on the rare occasions he did, it meant more than the world to Minato. It always had. He couldn't help the deep inhale he took as his teacher said it. Jiraiya was proud of him. Jiraiya thought he was worth being called 'son'. Even as a grown adult… Minato didn't lose the power those sentiments held over him. His lips softened at their edges.

"I am happy, sensei. I feel… right. Things are finally right." He exhaled and gave the older man a sudden wicked smile. "And I'm not giving you details, you pervy sage, so you can quite fishing for them."

Jiraiya let out a roar of laughter and slapped Minato on the back so hard it nearly made the younger man stumble.

"Minato," he grinned. "Have you ever realized that you leave your window open at night and that sound carries?"


	18. Chapter 18

_all right, fresh back from megacon and boy was it fun. While I try to catch up on my sleep, here's for my gentle readers and best beloveds. **tennisdesi91** - yep, Jiraiya totally wrote himself into the last chapter - lol. Just was NOT going to pass up the chance to tease composed, calm Minato. It did them both good though I think :D **writing bunny** - yeah, I do try to put character developing chapters in there as much as ones that further the plot. Things are going to hit full speed soon and there won't be much slowing down before the end. I wanted to give both characters and readers a chance to just enjoy the moment - before I snatched it away - bwahaha! ;) **velo** - heh, yeah, you knew Jiraiya wouldn't let something like that pass him by. Poor Minato, it's a wonder he stays sane with a teacher like that and a fox to lead him astray too. Thank you for the compliments on Jiraiya - I'll admit, my grasp of him as a character is shaky. I try to do him justice and if I made him a full character instead of just a caricature than I take that as a compliment. You know there's more to him than just the perv or he wouldn't have both Minato and Naruto's love and devotion they way he does. And - lol - oh, you knew that window was going to be trouble. Yep, he just may have to shut himself away to - er, recover from the shock - lol. We'll see just how determined the fox and her Yondaime are in the next few chapters though ;) **crazylikeanko **- thank you. I'm glad you liked the character building chapter. As for Mikoto and company, so far they've been no shows but that's because you hit the nail on the head and we pretty much head straight into fox country after this. I'm not done with the story yet though (only through chapter 24 at this point) so whose to say? Guess we'll find out at close to the same time ;) **dellende** - welcome to the party! You're just in time :D and thank you. I'm trying to do the character's justice. All my stories are character driven first and it means a lot to me when those characters both belong where they are and intrigue the readers. I hope to compound that soon. Tell me how I do ;) **mc **- I too learned to 'squee' on ffnet. Just too many opportunities to do so. I'm glad the chapter made you happy. I thought both readers and characters needed a chance to catch their breath before the final rush. Your memory of Kushina made me laugh too. You're right - she has been getting the 'new, improved' Minato for a while now, hasn't she? **weehoo107 **- heh, thanks. He wasn't about to stay uninvolved after Minato finally got involved with Kushina. and of course to my lovely fact checker and Naruto support - **jini **- we're getting there! Couldn't have pulled off this story without you. wouldn't have even wanted to try :D_

Chapter 18:

"I would like to take Kushina home."

The Hokage looked up from the papers he was sorting through and, again, for just a moment, Minato was struck by the fact that the other man looked… old. Or perhaps that wasn't exactly right. The Hokage looked weary.

"Do you think that's wise?" the Hokage asked, setting down his papers and looking at the younger man. Minato nodded.

"She needs to go home. And if we wait too long – " he paused. Stepped inside the office and shut the door after himself. "We don't want to wait too long."

The Hokage nodded.

"You can feel it too, can't you, Namikaze? The world is starting to tremble. The nations are too restless. Things are about to rearrange again."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Minato didn't bother deny it and he walked over to stand in front of the other man's desk. "We want to go before I'm needed here."

Considering what had happened to her home, it wasn't an unusual request. Many nin would want to see first hand what was left of their destroyed village and mourn. In his chair, the Hokage sat back a little and for a long moment his eyes were unfocused and thinking. Minato stood quietly by and waited. When the older man finally spoke it wasn't about what Minato had expected.

"She's… unique, our little kunoichi. Isn't she?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Dark eyes rose to meet his.

"Very unique."

Minato met those eyes and he refused to lie to them.

He also refused to betray his fox.

"Yes."

For a long minute the two men looked at each other and finally the Hokage sighed. Slow, he pushed away from his chair and moved to stand by the window. After a minute, when no conversation was forthcoming, Minato stepped over to join him.

"I love this village," the Hokage began and Minato listened patiently. "My own sensei was one of the founders and he loved this village too. I love it, not because it is pure and beautiful but because it is hidden and none of its paths run straight. Each of the clans have their own desires for it and each of the families living in it do too. I love it for its complications and its hidden dens and its gray areas." He turned his head and looked at Minato.

"Why do you love it, Namikaze?"

Minato paused before he answered but not because he didn't know his answer. It was because he had never before had to tell anyone why he felt as he did. Raising a hand to rest it against the frame of the huge window, he let his eyes fill with the city below him and his voice came out soft and rough at its edges.

"I love Konoha because it is alive." He swallowed and looked down at the buildings and the people and the winding streets with their fluttering banners. "I love Konoha because it is worth loving. It is not perfect. It's scarred and dark and dirty in places but it refuses to give up or go away or fail. It insists on living and growing because it refuses to do anything else. It is magic, the greatest jutsu of all. The magic of humans giving parts of themselves to each other to live in peace. I love Konoha because it is hope."

It was quiet after that and Minato was aware that the Hokage was watching him. Finally he turned his head and looked at the older man.

"Go," the Hokage's voice was soft. "Take Uzumaki and take her home. I trust you."

Minato didn't let it show but the man's words sent a shiver down his spine. The Hokage knew about his little fox. Not specifically but – the older man knew somehow. Somehow… it didn't surprise him. He nodded.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama. I will return soon."

The other man made a noise as he walked back to settle in his chair behind his desk. Minato took that as dismissal and made his way toward the door. His hand was on its handle when the Hokage's voice made him pause.

"Just make sure it is you that comes back, Namikaze."

Minato turned his head over his shoulder to look but the older man was already busy with his papers. Feeling the chill of the weight of that warning on him though, he opened the door and let himself out.

His students were in the hallway waiting for him and he raised his eyebrows at them in silent question.

"Big sister said we should come see you," Rin, ever the spokesperson, looked worried. "She said you were both leaving soon and we should see you before you did."

His lips softened and he stretched out his arms to herd them out of the hallway and outside into the open air.

"Yes," he agreed. "I am leaving. I'm taking Kushina home for a quick visit and then we'll be back." His eyes softened as he looked down into the three drawn and worried faces peering back up at him. Reaching out, he lightly rested a hand on top of Kakashi's silver riot of hair. "And I was going to come and find each of you before I left anyway."

He could have easily been lying to spare their feelings now that they were in front of him – but he wasn't. He wasn't and they seemed to know it because little smiles lit two of the faces and only reflected warily in the eyes of the third. It surprised him when Kakashi was the one that spoke.

"You – will come back. Right, sensei?"

"Yes," he went to a knee in the circle of them and put a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. He met those dark eyes with his own lighter ones. "I will come back. I give my word. As your sensei."

It was a dangerous promise to make and Minato didn't take it lightly. But he made it all the same. He'd seen his future and it held a tiny, helpless son in it. His son was not here yet. His future wasn't ready to end.

He watched the silver haired boy swallow and nod. Minato nodded back just as solemnly. Then he reached out and gently tweaked Rin's cheek to make her smile. Standing again, he ruffled Obito's hair and listened to the laughter. Leaving could wait just a little while longer.

If his fox had sent the children to him, she'd expected as much.

"Come on," he tipped his head in the right direction. "The dango shop should still be open."

He spent the rest of the day with the children, setting aside his plans for an early start.

He didn't consider it a waste.

By the time he left them and went back to his apartment dusk was already starting to fall. His little fox was sitting on the steps of the apartment, wearing her pack, his resting next to her legs. One of her ears was a bit red. She'd been worrying at it with her fingers, a habit he'd noticed indicated she was either nervous or thinking. When she saw him her face lit with a smile but the shadows didn't leave her eyes. He dropped low to kneel in front of her and she automatically leaned forward to rest her arms over his shoulders. He kissed her and felt when she forgot that she was worried. It made him smile against her mouth.

"Little fox," he murmured it as a greeting and her humming:

"Yondaime," answered him back.

It was all it took to have him shifting and pulling her forward into his lap. Her legs wound around his hips and her mouth found his again and for a very long time he forgot everything else as well. The sound of a throat clearing behind him indicated that the presence he'd sensed arriving wasn't just going to walk passed and leave them on their own. He let his lips leave hers but didn't raise his face.

"Takagi."

"You sure she's seducing you, Minato?" Umino Takagi's voice asked behind him. "Because it doesn't look like it's working."

The snorted laugher surprised him as it escaped him and his little fox raised her head, eyes dancing, to stated seriously:

"I agree. He is very resistant. I will have to try harder."

Umino laughed and settled in on his heels next to them, eyes laughing.

"You two are breaking a lot of female hearts." He clapped Minato on the shoulder. "'bout time."

Minato just gave him a dry look and the fox chuffed her pleasure. Her arms around him tightened.

"Mine," she cheerfully declared and Umino grinned at her.

"Yeah. Never stood a chance, did he?"

"I'm right here," Minato reminded them both and the fox's laughter sounded again. Umino just kept smiling.

"Aki sent this," he held out a cloth wrapped package. "Some of her famous date bread. Said it would keep on the trip."

"Does everyone know we're leaving?" Minato asked mildly and Umino shrugged.

"Uzumaki told us. Said you might want something other than all the ramen she'd packed."

Minato gave his fox a look.

"Is that _all_ you packed?"

"I packed clothes too," she protested cheerfully and he exhaled and shook his head. Her eyes were dancing and he knew she was prepared and simply teasing.

Not that he expected she'd packed any type of food beyond the ramen however.

He gave her thigh a pat and she unwound from him and stood up. He took the bread from Umino and stood as well.

"Tell your wife I said thank you. She'd probably saved me from dying of ramen poisoning."

His fox huffed.

"Ramen is good," she inserted pointedly and Umino grinned. Then his face went serious.

"Nami- Minato. Don't… take too long before you come back. All right?"

Minato raised his brows at his friend and Umino just shook his head.

"Aki's been having dreams. Nothing – immediate. Just – just don't take too long, all right."

Minato nodded in seriousness. Aki had dreams. They weren't specific enough to make her a seer. But they were general enough to usually give some kind of warning if they were listened to. He'd already had his concerns about the way the future was shaping itself. If Aki was having dreams it just solidified his own impressions.

"Yes," he stated for clarity. "I'll be back soon."

Umino smiled wryly and nodded as well.

"I know, Minato. It's just good to hear you say it."

"All right," Minato leaned down and slung his pack over his shoulder. "If I'm coming back soon, I need to leave. Watch over my kids while I'm away."

"Me?"

Minato gave a quiet chuckle.

"You're good with kids, Takagi. And they're close to your son's age. Kakashi in particular could use some friends his own age."

Umino made a noise and smiled.

"You just want me to make sure your pervy sensei doesn't corrupt them," the man's eyes were laughing and he nodded. "Don't worry about it, Minato. I'll make sure their innocence is still intact when you get back."

It left Minato chuckling as he turned with a last hand wave and headed for the gates. His little fox fell into step next to him, pace easily keeping up with his own.

She was… very quiet.

Minato waited until they were out the gate and well into the woods, before he finally, softly, asked:

"Seeing your grandfather isn't exactly safe, is it, little fox?"

In the dim shadows of the forest, gold eyes rose to his and they were large and deep.

"No."

He nodded and looked ahead.

"How are we going to do it?"

She was quiet for a short time and then answered:

"There is a river almost a night's journey from here. Once we cross it we will be in grandfather's lands. You will sleep… and when you wake, we will be there."

"Where, exactly?"

Next to him her red hair swayed, blood colored in the twilight and she was watching her feet.

"In the between place. Where all kitsune live. You will be in grandfather's dream."

He made a humming noise to show he was listening and after a moment added:

"Specifics?"

In the silence of the forest, he could hear her teeth clicking together inside her closed jaw and she frowned, brows furrowing.

"You will be in a fox den… and you will be in a lavish house. And the house will be more real than the den. It is – it is," she struggled with it. "It is fox magic. It is real even if it is not always there. The soul of the place will be the same but the skin it wears will shift and each shift will be real too. Like me."

Her gold eyes rose to find his and they were torn and twisting in the gold. He reached out and took her hand in his, raising it to his lips to lightly nip at the knuckles. His mind ran over both what she said… what she didn't say… and what he'd seen in her little jutsu.

"It's how you have clothes on when you shift from being a fox, isn't it?"

She blinked in surprise and he watched her mind stutter over the concept. Finally, brows down, she nodded slightly.

"I – I think. I have need of clothes when I shift to this form and so they are there. I don't have need of them as a fox and so they are not…"

"But the clothes are real. You can take them off and set them aside. You didn't create them, they're not magic. They're the same as mine. So it depends on your need, not on magic you have to make yourself. You change the nature of the clothes but they're still clothes."

"I – " she mulled it over and finally nodded. "I think so."

He was asking her to explain something that, to her, was as hard to explain as why her eyes were gold or she only grew a certain height when she was taking a form. He understood that. And he didn't fully understand what she was trying to explain. But he thought – he hoped to all things holy – that he understood the concept, the basics. Because – if he didn't – he wouldn't be coming out of this one.

Or, if the Hokage's warning had been right, his soul wouldn't.

His body might.


	19. Chapter 19

_first off - I'm on an extended weekend and have no idea how my schedule may go - soooo, ya'll get this early. I know, I know, it's horrible of me ;) that said, my gentle readers and best beloveds, enough with the snuggle time - let's mosey. **writing bunny** - interesting is good, it's what I aim for ;) so glad to hear. and - as for the grandfather - ask and ye shall receive - lol. **crazylikeanko** - yeah, the old men in my story seem to all be turning out as plotters with more going on and more awareness then they let on - lol. Keeps Minato on his toes I guess ;) Umino - he just makes me happy. The only normal, sane character in the lot and he's good for Minato. Very unphased by eccentricities. **velo **- next chapter! up and accounted for :D I'm actually having to do some serious work to keep ahead so that I can post these - I always, for some reason, seem to slow down in my writing as I get to the end of a story. Not wanting it to end, I suppose. Yeah, Iruka is the reason I gave Minato Takagi. Iruka's the first one to reach out to Naruto, the first one to feel for him, and he stays faithful without really faltering. He's not as flashy as the other characters but to me that makes him even more special. I just had to include his father and the next thing you knew he was helping the fox open Minato up to socialization. And now we're off into the lion's or rather fox's mouth ;) Hanging on? **tennisdesi91** - I have no idea where Minato's answer came from about loving the village but yeah, I loved it too when he said why. Didn't know what was coming until he opened his mouth but I'm pleased it sounded 'Minatoish'. He always seemed like he'd be more about life than anything else, despite what he probably thinks of himself. **mc **- well, as far as the fox is concerned, she promised Minato she'd help him find the secret of fox magic and that, to her, can only be done in her grandfather's library. Minato however - I think he's already found his fox magic as far as he's concerned and his reasons for going are different now. But he wouldn't be Minato if he didn't play things close to his vest. ;) I used to think Cloud was that way but I think Cloud tends to make things up as he goes a heck of a lot more - lol. Either way, hopefully I'll reveal some answers in the next few chapters. not this one though. Not this one at all. **tombadgerlock** - hey, welcome to the party and glad you're enjoying it! As for Mikoto, yes, I feel bad for her too. She strikes me as a tragic character. I think she found a measure of happiness with her sons though, as ironic as that could turn out to be. **dellende** - pull up a chair and get comfortable! Drinks are in the fridge :D I'll admit, I had no idea how Minato would answer that question but luckily he jumped in and answered for me anyway. So I'm doubly glad it sounded like him. For a character that doesn't actually show up hardly at all, he comes across very clearly in certain areas. **bylaternlight** - heh, thank you. That's some seriously high flattery there and it makes me feel good to think that I'm doing something solid like that. Hopefully it will carry through as we go into fox country. And yeah, you just know the old man is a lot more attentive, particularly to Minato as a possible successor than he lets on. He always struck me as a very sly guy ;) and to my fact checker **Jini** - I keep sending these chapters to her later and later. All mistakes in this are definitely my fault._

Chapter 19:

When he woke, his little fox was gone. He rolled over stiffly in his sleeping mat and the spot in it she'd occupied was already cold.

He didn't like that.

It meant she'd moved and he hadn't realized it. Even in his sleep, he didn't like that lapse. Brows down he rolled to a sitting position and immediately saw that his surroundings had changed.

She'd warned him they would once he slept. He just hadn't expected it to be so… subtle.

The place they'd stopped to camp had been – pretty. The river had whispered along at his back and the trees on this side were younger and thinner than the ancient ones on the other side. Because of the thinner canopy grass and moss had grown on the ground here and when they'd made their bed, it had been in the hollow under a clumped group of saplings. Above, the stars had been distant and ready to retreat in the hint of false dawn.

Now…

Now it was the same. And yet, to his eyes, it wasn't.

The bark on the slender trees seemed… purer somehow. Subtle white with silver and red-brown lacings. The grass was shorter – softer – more uniform in its cover of the ground. He didn't remember the tiny white star shaped flowers that seemed to hide in it. He inhaled as he raised his head and the air was thicker – richer – clearer. The pleasure of icy wind without the bite and snap of it. He could smell the rich earth under him, the green grass, the leaves that rubbed together above his head. For a moment… for a moment it reminded him of his fox dream so long ago.

He got to his feet, automatically zipping up his flack vest and tipped his head to the sky. Above the stars were small and sharply white, almost painfully clear in the velvet blue of the sky.

His inner clock told him it was morning. Around him the world whispered that dawn was not yet come.

She had warned him to use as little jutsu as possible and so he didn't let his chakra diffuse. Long before he'd learned to hone his natural skills, he'd taught himself how to do things without. The blades of grass near a break in the trees were displaced and he narrowed his eyes in that direction.

A breeze blew through, not quite strong enough to be wind, and it pushed at his back and shoulders. It made the leaves above him whisper and, almost, he thought he heard their voice. Morning mist lay heavy on the ground.

It was beautiful and what he had gone to sleep in… and yet it was so much more than what he'd gone to sleep in. The breeze blew again and this time it carried a whisper.

"Minato…"

His eyes narrowed again at the sound but he'd made his choice. He wasn't changing his mind now. It seemed unimportant and yet sheer habit had him stooping down to collect his pack and pull it over his shoulders.

The fox's was still there and he left it for the moment. Unhesitating but not incautious, he started forward.

The fog curled around his ankles, chill and damp and the trees whispered as the wind pushed through them. Ahead of him the forest refused to either thin or grow thicker but, somehow, it did grow darker. He was being lead – and he knew it – but everything in him rebelled at the idea. He pushed forward anyway.

The wind whispered his name in a voice that should have been familiar – and yet wasn't.

"Minato…"

Ahead, the night grew deeper instead of growing lighter and, from nowhere a dirt track appeared. Again, his nature rebelled against it but he set his feet on it and followed.

In the shadows ahead, he caught the flicker of light, pale and ghosting. It wove through the trees ahead of him, seeming to follow the same trail he did but he never drew closer or saw more than the hints of it through the surrounding woods. The sound of water came to him and he found its source even as the woods finally gave way.

It was a spring and beyond the spring was a wooden board covered path that lead over the small streams that trickled away from the spring itself. The air smelled sharp as winter and rich with growing autumn herbs. He felt a tug, as if he'd been homesick for a very long time… as if he'd been fighting for a very long time… and when he set his feet on the wooden path and lifted his face from the spring, he saw the outline of a vast house ahead of him, almost hidden by low fences and flowering gardens.

She was there. He knew it. His heart tugged him to the comfort of her arms.

Even knowing it was a trick and nothing but illusions… his steps found their way far too easily to the first of a series of low, rustic gates.

It opened easily for him and he passed herb gardens and koi ponds. He'd expected… extravagance. Instead he saw simplicity and functionality.

Beautifully crafted and subtle functionality.

He finally stopped before the main gates to the house. They were simple carved wood with a mon on each side that he couldn't make out thanks to the wear of weather and time and they were open for him. A courtyard that was almost another garden of carefully maintained grass and pure white standing stones as high as his knee stretched on either side of the wooden path that led up to the house itself. He paused where he stood on the threshold and frowned.

It was… it was what he'd always wanted for himself in his private, selfish moments. Everything whispered peace and quiet. A place to rest for a while from the trials of the world. A place to think in peace. A place to heal…

He wanted it, was lured by it – and so rejected it in his mind. Determined, he took his first step into the compound.

As he did, the whispering ghost light appeared again in the hallway between two sections of the buildings partitions and it grew as he watched until he saw it was three young girls not much older than Rin. Each of them had his fox's beautiful slanted round eyes in different shades of golden brown and they were dressed in ornate dresses that didn't seem to hinder their fluid movements at all. One of them help a delicately painted paper lantern of foxes chasing butterflies and that was the source of the white light.

"Honored guest," they greeted him with apparent delight, voices blending and chiming like water bells in communion. "You are late. Sister had been waiting for you."

He didn't answer and they didn't seem to expect it. Instead they gathered around him like a small escort and under their motion alone, he found himself walking forward with them, up the polished wooden stairs and into the hallway they'd come from.

The house, in traditional style, was actually a collection of smaller houses all linked together with walkways and courtyards and open rooms. He let his eyes rove it as he was escorted through and if his guides minded, they gave no indication. Most of the doors were slid open in fact, almost as if inviting him to see there was nothing more here than what he brought with him. The cleanliness was meticulous.

He'd expected to only be presented with who was necessary for his seduction into this kitsune world but there was the whisper of fabric down halls and people passed by in the distance that seemed to have nothing to do with his happily chattering escorts.

It was… it was a world he was being allowed into. Not one that had been created for him alone and somehow, that made the ache of its offered comfort and peace that much stronger.

"Here, honored guest," one of the children went to her knees next to a door and slid it gracefully open. He caught himself thinking that even Kakashi couldn't have moved that smoothly and then he looked past and saw that it was a bath room, complete with an already full wooden tub. The wet cling of steam touched his skin and made him realize how dirty simply traveling through the woods could make someone. Eyes carefully scanning, he stepped into the room.

"You may take your time, honored guest," one of the other girls, eyes closer to starlight and smoke than her sister's amber dark or hazel green told him, hands folded in front of her. He saw that her fingers were tucked up as if she was more comfortable with them as paws still. With a closed hand she gestured to the chest against the wall. "There are fresh clothes for you there. And soaps and oils. There is no hurry."

"I thought your sister was waiting for me."

She smiled and he was surprised to see a single dimple appear in her rounded cheek.

"Now that you are here, she is not waiting anymore. Please," she bowed and stepped back from the room. "Find peace."

The door slid shut on him and he heard their giggling chatter fade back down the hall. Curious, he circled the room. It was a bath house, just like any other bath house he'd seen. There was a place to rinse himself off first, the stones set over a steam vent with tongs to add to the water if it started to cool, the chest contained the robes and promised cleaning products. It was…

It was nice. He kept expecting gaudy and he kept coming across simplistic beauty instead.

Exhaling, he set his pack down and then stripped off his clothing. Going through the motions, he prepared himself and then finally sank down into the hot water of the tub. It drew a hiss out of him as the heated water met knotted muscle but it wasn't a bad feeling. Sinking a bit lower, he kept an eye on his pack and let his head fall back on the rim of the tub.

This was… it was too easy. He kept waiting for aggressive and all he got was alluring. Somehow, that was harder to resist. It was peaceful and open and simple and, deep in his heart, he had to admit that such things were exactly what appealed to him. He didn't want riches or fame or glory… he wanted peace. And this place whispered it like a soft breeze through his open window at night.

He realized his eyes had closed and snapped them open, aware that time had passed and yet unaware how long. Sitting up, he shed water that was starting to go luke-warm and with a shake of his head at himself, he stepped out of the tub and dried himself off. The robes were soft and comfortable looking. They were even in colors he would naturally wear. He pulled on a change of clothes from his own pack however and then zipped on his flack vest instead.

It made him an ungrateful guest. It also reminded him of what he really was.

As he folded his old clothes and replaced them in the pack, he heard a polite scratching on the wall near the door.

"Honored guest," another voice, female and more adult than the children. He made a sound of acknowledgement and it continued.

"Grandfather would like to welcome you to our home before you meet our sister. When you are ready I will escort you."

He slid the door open to find a woman that must have been close to his fox's age, kneeling patiently by the door, pale hands folded in her lap. Her fingers were extended and the face she lifted to him was even more pointed than his fox's. Her eyes slanted a yellow gold at him and had been painted to accentuate the tilt at their edges. When she stood for him, it was so graceful and smooth that it looked like flowing water. He saw her robes too were elegant and simplistic at the same time.

If she noticed he was in shinobi gear, she was too polite to comment on it. Instead she gave him a small smile that shied out from under her dark lashes and seemed to glide more than walk forward ahead of him. He could smell cloves and oranges in her wake.

They crossed a courtyard on a white pebble path and a small bridge that led over a river that seemed to run through this part of the building. Under his feet the boards of the hallway was smooth with wear and he wondered how old it really was. The dream of a second… or centuries, passed from one fox mind to another?

The woman in front of him came to a stop in front of a closed door and her eyes caught the light from the sparse paper lanterns hung near the ceiling. The gold was so pale it was almost clear.

"You are a strong man," her voice was as smooth and polished as a formal greeting for such a personal comment. "I am glad you have come to our house."

She went to her knees after that and slid the door smoothly open. Small bells chimed and the smell of candle wax and dried lavender and something rich and earthy and whispering dusted past him on the air. He stepped passed her and into the room.

The old man from his dreams was waiting for him.

For a long moment they regarded each other, leaf green eyes to blue and at the end the old man nodded.

"Namikaze of the Leaf Village," the old man's greeting was rustling leaves and sun baked earth. Solid without being full and it reminded him of his own fox. He nodded once in answer and a small smile touched the other man's mouth as he moved away from the scroll case he had been standing in front of, one half unrolled one still in his hands. Down its page black ink strokes that meant nothing to Minato scurled in uneven patterns.

"You're Grandfather," Minato finally spoke even if he felt as if it was unnecessary. The old man smiled that quiet smile again.

"I am Grandfather," he agreed, green eyes young in the old face. "And you've chased my granddaughter all the way here."

"Yes," he didn't feel the need to elaborate. Another nod greeted his answer.

"She is one of my best," the old man moved over to a cushion set on the floor and settled down, motions stiff enough to indicate actual age. "Few can make me smile the way she can." He gestured to a nearby pillow. "Come sit and tell me about yourself."

Minato moved over and settled down on his knees on the cushion but he shook his head.

"There is nothing to tell that you don't already know. I came because your granddaughter is here."

The old man poured tea from a nearby tray, setting the first cup in front of himself and then the second in front of Minato.

"It has been a while since we have had a visitor. Tell me at least about the world outside my home."

Minato sipped the tea and tasted honey and some kind of flower.

"It is probably not much changed from your last visitor. Trade flows, villages grow and die. The harvest comes in and babies are born. Ask me something specific."

Across from him the old man chuckled and drank his own tea in silence for a long moment.

"Tell me what the Village Hidden in the Leaves will do if they find out who has destroyed the Whirlpool."

Against his better judgment, Minato felt his eyes narrow.

"Do you know who did it?" he asked instead and those leaf green eyes met his over the rim of the fragile cup.

"There is a village that has lost its leader. A very devoted village who are, perhaps, easily misled in their panic and – perhaps – excessive in their search for him. Perhaps… they are blindly being lead into creating a war that will shake the nations."

Minato's voice was emotionless.

"And you – perhaps – know the name of this village?"

"Perhaps," the old man agreed. Knowing eyes met his. "And perhaps there is a reason we have not shared it. When the nations go to war, they effect much more than just the humans that started them. Ah – " he set down his cup and turned his face toward the door as it slid open. "It appears my granddaughter has arrived to greet you. Forgive her for keeping you waiting. I wanted to meet you first you see."

Minato turned his head and saw the form kneeling in the doorway. The robes were rich and whispered with each movement. Hair longer than he remembered and red gold was held in place with gold and lacquered pins even as it cascaded like liquid silk over the robes. The most beautifully painted face he had ever seen rose to meet his.

It wasn't his fox.


	20. Chapter 20

_wow - so many wonderful reviews for the last chapter. Let's get right to it! **mc** - you've once again hit the nail on the head. The kitsune world is appearances based on who's looking, on who the reality belongs to at the moment. But of course, how well does Minato usually do when someone tries to tell him how something should be? lol He's trying to be a good guest - but, well, it's Minato and they are messing with the fox he likes to think he knows. We'll see how well he does and for how long ;) **awkwardlyawesome** - good. yes, it just seemed to me that, more than riches or power or renown, Minato would be most attracted to simple peace. I think it's what he craves more than almost anything and so rarely ever gets. If the kitsune world is both appealing and untrustworthy than it's coming across just exactly right. Glad you feel that way. And it's a most excellent question as well. I will answer it ;) **tennisdesi91** - heh - thanks. I was trying for a zinger ending :D and thank you also on the world compliment. I wasn't sure if I'd gotten too descriptive and so you were very reassuring. **writing bunny** - thank you as well. I don't usually write so many descriptives. I prefer to give just enough to build the walls and let the readers fill in the room, so to speak. But I really wanted the last chapter to have a dreamy quality and so I'm glad that's the way it came across instead of just cluttered with adjectives. **velo!** - :D you and Minato are entirely on the same wavelength! I think he was expecting something very different and I think, in the core of him, Minato would be very happy to just settle somewhere quietly and let the rest of the world leave him alone - except of course he feels responsible for what goes on in that world. So the fox simplicity and peace tugs on him, even if he doesn't trust it. The same way your questions about who the fox in front of him is mirror his own perfectly ;) You know him well. **crazylikeanko** - pleased author is pleased :D** bylaternlight **- my pleasure and thank you. I like your 'real or fantasy' summary. Exactly what I was aiming for and what Minato's wondering at the moment. also, spot on! You know the fox are going to test him and not just once either. **thats a freakin riot** - hey! welcome to the party! You're just in time :D and heh - well, I've tried not to do too many cliff hanger endings to chapters in this story but I can't promise that was the last one. don't worry, I update every Sunday, rain or shine, so you'll at least never have to wait too long for the next part. And - lol - well, one day I hope to be doing this for a living so I too hope I never have to stop writing stories ;) **dellende **- thank you. I really was trying to find the balance between absolutely normal and 'magic'. I was kind of aiming for the way a well written haiku sometimes makes me feel if that makes sense - lol. As if everything's as it should be but just a BIT more beautiful than normal. Now to answer the question that ended last week :) **necro-wulf** - welcome, welcome and pull up a chair. Thank you for the review and I'm flattered you read the entire story - cause it's getting long - lol. I'm glad the characters seem full and well rounded. I like to consider myself a character writer before I'm anything else and sometimes I worry that I'm not doing them the justice in written form that they seem to have in my head. As for the kitsune legends - it's an interest of mine. I never actually intended this story to have kitsune in it at all but it just wouldn't write any other way for me so here we are. I've been trying to bring in the feel of the folklore and yet give it a slight twist - trying to match it to the Naruto world with it's ninjas and TV sets - lol. So thank you - it's good to hear that I seem to be managing. Stick around - things get furry from here on out for a while ;) _

_once again, all mistakes are entirely mine. Or, in this chapter, perhaps foxy interpretation. Did someone say Kyuubi?_

Chapter 20:

Minato had never seen anyone as breathtaking as the women that knelt in the doorway to the room. Her beauty was a physical blow to the stomach. She was ethereal, a moon goddess – and nothing that his heart reacted to at all. Until eyes the color of ancient, burnished gold grew wet with tears –

And then he knew her.

He was on his feet before he realized he'd moved and he blamed it on the magic of this place that drew everything in him into longing and quiet need. His hands found her face and it was nothing that his fingers recognized except in its soft warmth. A body that was too perfect, too elegant, responded to his though and her face tilted in his hands as the liquid gold spilled from first one eye and then the other to wash his palms. He brought his lips to that liquid and knew its taste.

"There you are," it escaped him in a whisper before he could recall it and so close, there was only the familiar gold of her eyes to answer him. Gentle, he smoothed liquid off of cheeks as soft as new petals, that glowed like moonstone. Her lips, pale and pearl, twitched, just a little at their edges and his little fox was in that twitch.

"You missed me." The voice was too fluid and modulated to be hers. Too velvet, too lacking in laughter and bubbles. But the words were hers and he smiled.

"I missed you."

"Good."

It drew the sound out of him and he slipped his thumb across her cheek again. As if he could brush away the moon glow of it to find her underneath. From behind him he heard the old man calmly state:

"She is one of a kind, my granddaughter. My most beautiful pearl."

He searched her face but it was still foreign to him. He wanted to correct the man, wanted to tell him that what was in front of him wasn't real. And, not being real, it wasn't beautiful. Not really. It was a necklace on a woman's throat, a well-painted wall scroll. A decoration, not lovely or loveable for itself.

Not compared to the woman's face he knew that crinkled at the edges of gold eyes when she laughed or wrinkled her nose at him in teasing. Not compared to the sight of laughter in her eyes or the half quirk of her mouth or the firm point of her stubborn chin. Not river wet hair and smudged cheeks and pleased, snapping white teeth. His thumb rubbed her cheek again but the pale skin's glow didn't abate or shift into a more familiar round softness.

The eyes that watched him above that cheek however were hers entirely now and they were very ancient and very sharp with intelligence and unspoken caution.

"She is one of a kind," he agreed and his voice came out gruffer than he'd intended.

"You've come a long way to find her again. Don't let an old man keep you."

"Thank you," Minato's voice was quiet and he rose to his feet. On her knees, his little fox waited an entire beat before she did as well and it was only after she'd bowed to the floor in the old man's direction. Her pale hands slipped into the sleeves of the elegant robe she wore and disappeared. Minato gave the old man one last look and it took a great deal more of his control than it should have to make sure it was not unfriendly. Then he turned and left the room and, gliding on silent feet, his fox followed a step behind.

He waited until they were in another hall before he turned on her.

"What is this?" it hissed out of him with more violence than he would have liked. Dark lidded eyes rose from where they had been focused on the ground and looked at him under heavy lashes.

"This is the kitsune world. You knew."

"Not this," his denial was firm and he caught her chin with his fingers. "You never said it would change you."

Slanted eyes blinked at him and the porcelain face tilted.

"This is my last side," she might as well have been reciting poetry for the flux and flow of her smooth voice. "When I am not furred and not human, I am here."

His eyes narrowed in answer but he took her face between his palms and examined it. Committed it to memory. It was pearl and fish scales, moonlight and dusk, silk and chimes and spice. Leaning in, he brought his nose close to her throat and inhaled and, for a moment, her hands forgot and rose to clutch at his vest. He knew she had a sensitive throat.

He smelled lemons and green grass and, very faintly, sun warmed groves.

Closing the distance he nuzzled and heard her whimper softly. When he drew back however, the face had not changed and the eyes were ancient and dark. He let go of her and stepped back. She did not follow him.

He exhaled. He had been expecting to sacrifice something in coming here… her being that sacrifice though – it wasn't part of any bargain he was willing to make.

"All right," he let it rest for the moment. But not for long. Not for long at all. "Show me this place."

Paying attention to their surroundings as he followed her he began to notice that, despite the apparent traditional design of the house, it was just a little… off. The width of the hallways were different from one part of the buildings to others. Sometimes his shoulders almost brushed the walls on either side, sometimes it was wide enough for two to walk side by side without touching. Sounds too seemed dimmer here. Muffled. Their footsteps on the wood floors, even for a fox and a shinobi, were almost silent. The murmur of voices and the occasional small stream of running water always seemed further away than they were.

He ran through a jutsu technique in his mind and found that it wasn't as sharply focused as it should be.

It was very tempting to stretch out his chakra senses – but he'd been warned against that and he took his little fox's warning very seriously.

Especially in her own world.

They passed a small garden. A man sat with an unrolled scroll in his lap and near him a woman as beautiful as the dawn laughed at his teasing. Their sounds came to Minato as if he was listening to them underwater and there was something about the man that bothered him without a reason. He reached out and drew his fox to him as they passed the scene.

"Who was that man? What was wrong with him?"

"That was Tabito. A great poet from the Land of Wind. He is… not entirely ours anymore."

The name rang a vague bell but Minato had never had much time for poets and musicians. That was more his teacher's area. He looked back over his shoulder but they had passed back into a covered hallway and he saw nothing.

"How is he not entirely yours anymore?"

Gold eyes looked at him from their edges.

"He is dead. Over a hundred years dead and he does not know it. His soul was given to a kitsune and so he remains – partially – to write his words still for us. That is what do. We… save humans of beauty. Or of power."

"He pacted with a kitsune? What for?" Minato couldn't imagine a poet being desperate enough to sell his soul. Next to him, his fox in moon goddess form hummed.

"What all writers wish for," her voice was casual, softly dismissive. "Beauty. Or truth. Perhaps it was for eternal fame though I don't believe so. Tabito is too gentle to want that. He didn't pact with us as you have. He simply desired it too much and when one of us offered it, he never asked what it would cost."

His narrowed eyes went back down the hallway again before coming to rest on the woman gliding next to him.

"You get to keep him even in death?"

"The Lord of the Dead is very fond of us. He is allowed to keep those that bind themselves to him. He allows us to keep _most _of what binds itself to us." Her golden eyes went to him. "Even the God of Death may not interfere with a previous pact. All it costs us is a tithe of each soul." Her eyes were watching him very closely. "The most important part."

He stopped walking and she did as well. In his head, he rolled over what she had told him because it was important. Possibly the most important thing he'd ever learn and she had told him all of it that she could. His eyes flicked up to hers.

"The heart. He takes the heart."

Her eyes were deep wells of sorrow.

"Tabito's poetry has never been the same. He knows it, but he cannot discover why. He never will." She paused and her eyes would not leave his. "And he will never love his kitsune as he once did. It is the price she pays to keep him with her."

He looked down at her, at that unfamiliar face and those too familiar eyes. Reaching up, he cupped her cheek in his callused palm and his voice was very low and very husky as he said:

"You're going to let me die, aren't you?"

Liquid swam in her eyes but there was no hesitation in her as she nodded in his palm.

"When it is your time – yes."

Leaning down he kissed her and as he did, he knew the mouth that answered under his. Wrapping both arms tightly around her he drew her into his body and, without vision, she was as soft and warm and familiar smelling as always. Under his lips, hers parted and he filled them, kissing her deep and tender and completely. He loved his son enough to give the child life.

She loved him enough to let him go.

"I do, you know," he said as he drew away just enough to breathe. He felt her smile in the privacy of their small world. A fox's smile. _His_ fox's smile.

"I know," for a moment, her voice was her own. "You love me."

The chuckle escaped him, despite the situation.

"I know." His hands moved over her back and he ducked his head to touch her throat gently with his teeth. "My little fox."

In his arms she shivered and made a low pleased sound. Against her skin, he smiled. They could paint her up like the moon – but she was still _his_ little fox.

He found he could breathe after that and he scooped her up in his arms. She belonged pressed against him when they were traveling and, wrapped in the robes and elegance she was, she couldn't climb on his back. Instead he kept her in his arms and even though she looked vaguely worried at it, she didn't protest or try to regain her own feet. Hands full, he let her be the one to reach out and slid doors open for him when they came to them.

One of the doors, miraculously it seemed, opened into a library. He paused in the doorway and wondered if it was a trap.

"It is the library," she told him as if the stacked scrolls in their boxes and the writing desks with their ink stones didn't make it obvious. The smooth modulation of her voice gave nothing away. "Many of our guests visit here. Even grandfather's private library does not have so many scrolls."

He made his listening noise and stepped inside the room. It smelled of paper and ink and fresh wood and some of the scroll boxes looked very, very old. He had originally planned to search her grandfather's scrolls for kitsune magic.

Now he had something a bit different in mind.

It didn't mean he wouldn't take advantage given the opportunity.

But not today apparently. Today he was only allowed access to general places. He could understand that. As he settled down on the floor with his painted fox in his lap, he noticed a hanging on the far wall. The painted scroll took up the entire length of the room on that side.

It was a great red fox with nine tails.

"What is that?" he asked and she turned her head against his chest to look.

"That is the greatest of us all. The Kyuubi."

He made an inquiring noise and she settled more comfortably in his arms but her face stayed turned to the red fox.

"Long ago, humans had become so many that their hatred and their rage and their anger took physical form. It was a monster like no other and it roamed all the lands leaving nothing in its wake. A great human shinobi, the greatest jutsu master of all, made war with the monster created of human hate. But a monster made of the hatred and rage of an entire species cannot be destroyed for they feed it, always. Finally he trapped the great monster but no prison will hold rage and hatred. No prison but the heart. He called on his allies in both the human and animal world but not one would offer their heart to make the cage. Finally my ancestor, greatest of the fox, came forward and sacrificed his own heart. But no animal can hold the rage of a human and even my ancestor, great and powerful and ancient, could not contain all that hatred. He went mad but even mad he did not forget his vow and he held the monster inside. Seeing his sacrifice other animals came forward as well and offered themselves, knowing that to save the world, they too would have to swallow the consequences of the human rage. Each time the evil they took into themselves became a little less because of what had already been taken by the ones before. The last one, the weakest, took what was left and ran howling and mad into the night after his brothers. And so humans were allowed to continue to live because, though they still hated and raged, it was no longer strong enough to take physical form and try to swallow the world."

She told it like a folk tale, smooth voice twining it into poetry and tragedy. A voice that beautiful felt wrong when it calmly recited one of the most horrifying and devastating folk tales he thought he could have ever heard.

"No human offered to take the monster inside?"

"None could. It was a human monster. Nothing human could contain it. Even the jinchuriki must have the animal between them and it to hold the rage inside them. No human could carry their entire races' hatred."

"But the foxes did. The other creatures. For humans?"

Against him she made a humming noise.

"For humans. For without humans… there is no magic in us. We are only animals."


	21. Chapter 21

_I'm not at home so forgive me if my replies are short this time. But it's Sunday and so I had to get this out on time. **bukkakenojutsu** - thank you. It felt a bit like an Aesop's fable when I wrote it ;) It was fun. **writing bunny **- aww, thanks. I have fun with those two - especially since they mostly write themselves and I just get to sit back and let them go. Which they did in this chapter, cause this ending wasn't at all the one I'd pictured. **mc **- I think you've gotten to the very heart of what the real crux of this story is all about. The borders and limits, and lack of limits, when love is concerned. And how both Minato and the fox's concept of things has changed. But you already knew I like exploring the concepts of what makes us who we are ;) **velo **- I'm going to hire you to summarize my stories from now on, because you found every glint of idea I put in there and framed them all perfectly. I always adore your reviews, you know that, but this last one made me glow for days afterward. Awesome you. **necro-wulf **- I admit, I had fun trying to look at things for a different angle. And what will be released indeed if the akatski succeed? I think we're all wondering that in the manga as well. **bylaternlight** - wow, amazing catch. thank you, I went back and rewrote that part so hopefully it's a bit clearer now. Just think of the tailed beasts as the candy-coating shell around the gooey chocolate center. Crap, now I'm hungry. **that's a freakin riot** - yep, we haven't got much further to go but until then, every Sunday. And no, you never bore, though you do make my head swell alarmingly. Thanks for that. Does my little author's heart good. **dellende** - that's a very good point about shared hatred. It's kind of a sideways look through fox legend, so it may or may not be entirely accurate. But it fit the fox world and I'm glad it sounded sensible. And great thanks to my busy fact checker, **Jini.** I would be so lost if it weren't for you :D All mistakes however are entirely mine and I apologize in advance for the roughness of this chapter. I didn't have the usual time to go over it and polish. Same goes for anyone I forgot to reply to. Scold me in the next review and I shall apologize profusely._

Chapter 21:

He didn't sleep well that night.

His fox was not in his room with him and the quiet and peace of the place did no good against that fact and the fact he rarely slept well in a strange place anyway. Lacking the opportunity to lay out his usual chakra web he felt strangely deaf and blind as well. He did force himself to nap however. He had no idea how long he would be in this place. Lying in the dark, if he closed his eyes, he could almost feel the earth pressing down on him, as if he truly was in a fox warren deep under ground and not in a room with paper walls and a thin wood roof.

In the dark, he worried for Konoha. His instincts told him that time in the kitsune world did not pass the way it did in his own.

He woke before the almost silent feet had even paused outside his door and so he heard when it slid quietly open. This was a 'traditional' house. His fox was not allowed to sleep with him, she'd told him. Even if they had been married, she still would have needed to sleep with her sisters. If he remembered the more 'traditional' ways correctly, ancient to his mind, sneaking into other people's rooms at night was so common there were even polite ways to ignore other people you passed in the hallways doing the same. She had not said she would come.

He'd been waiting for her anyway.

Whatever stepped into his room on silent bare feet however wasn't his fox. He didn't need his chakra to tell him so. His body didn't react but the form still paused as it slid the door shut.

"Minato?" it asked and it was the smoothly modulated voice that came from his fox's own mouth. He rolled onto his side and propped himself up with an elbow. In the dim light from the waning moon outside, he saw shadows and slivers of pale skin and rich fabric. A single golden eye caught the light for a moment and it was large and beautiful and ancient. Silk folds rustled as the form crept quietly closer and the down mat he was resting on shifted as her knees touched its edge. A pale, slender hand offered itself and it was his fox's, down to the almost invisible scar on the tip of the index finger that even the kitsune magic of this place couldn't hide.

"I can't stay long," she whispered. He made a noise low in his throat – and she misjudged it.

When she shifted forward toward him with outstretched hands, he caught her wrist and, rolling, threw her into the far wall. He didn't hold back the force of his throw either. Thin wooden frame and waxed paper… the wall held. He wasn't as surprised as he should have been. The body hitting it had sounded much more solid than a thin surface should have as well.

Fox dens.

He was crouched on the balls of his feet, kunai already in his hand, before the body had finished landing and it rolled to its own hands and feet just as smoothly as he had. White teeth snarled at him in the moonlight and they were long and pointed.

"Poor greeting for your lover, Namikaze Minato," it growled at him and sounded closer to his fox's voice than the one it had first used. He bared his own teeth at it as his eyes narrowed. He was surprised to find anger rising to the surface but he didn't push it down or ignore it.

"Try it again," he offered. "I'm only gentle the first time."

"I only have to touch you, to turn you."

He remembered the sound of fox laughter and made it now.

"You'll never get that close."

The snarl was answer enough and the creature launched itself at him, long hair and elegant robes and pale clawed fingers. In almost the same instant the door opened and he caught movement there to. Unsure how many opponents he had to face, he shifted himself to the side, not even calling up his own private jutsu to do so. As he moved, the form in the door did as well and the launching woman was struck. He heard hissing and barking as the bodies rolled and he settled into a waiting crouch, his back to a corner of the room that felt solid. A third form remained in the doorway and it brought its hands together. Light blossomed. He was aware that it was a woman in the doorway and that she had a sheathed sword across her back and that there were two more woman in the room with him, tossed together in robes of colored silk and more silken, long blood colored hair.

He recognized the kitsune that had called him strong… and his own fox. His fox was the one on top and one of her hands was clawed over the other woman's mouth. Gold eyes were molten in both of them.

"He is mine," his own fox growled it and she shook the other woman hard where her hand clenched over jaw and lips. Under her, the foreign kitsune was defiant but she didn't resist.

"Sister," the kitsune in the door had a voice as emotionless as stone. "Shall I tell grandfather you are in heat? Are you that eager for attention?"

On her back on the floor, the other woman hissed. His fox shook her hard again.

"Big sister is being merciful_. __**I**_ will tell grandfather you are so hot that you resort to stealing other males."

"He is the next Fire Lord. I deserve him more than you. I care."

His fox snorted.

"He would never love you. Not with all your magic. He would know you are hollow."

Upside down, gold eyes rolled to look at him. He settled onto his heels and shrugged.

"You touched me when I tossed you across the room. I still find you boring."

Yellow eyes narrowed at him but his little fox was making her chuffing noises and the sound of them made him ache with how badly he'd missed hearing them. She rose, letting go of the other woman with a last shake and came to settle between his knees. He rested a hand on her arm and felt the way it was still trembling slightly.

"Run away," his fox said. "He is not for you."

With a sound that might have been a stifled scream of rage, the woman on the floor rolled to her hands and feet and scrambled out of the room. The woman with the sword in the doorway moved to let her passed. The sound of silk and claws on wood faded quickly, replaced by silence.

"Will you really tell grandfather sister is in heat?" the swordswoman finally asked.

His fox shook her head and combed her fingers absently through her hair.

"No. I would not do that to a sister. But if she thinks I would, she will stay hidden until it has passed."

In the doorway, the other woman bowed. It made the ball of pale light in her hands flicker with shadows and strange forms.

"Then I will leave you here, little sister. Safe den."

"Good hunting," his fox said and the other woman dipped her head to Minato and withdrew, sliding the door shut behind her. She did not kneel to do so. Somehow, nothing about the departing woman indicated she was the kind to ever kneel. Minato slipped the kunai back into his vest and rested a hand over his fox's stomach. For a moment, in the flickering fox light, he had thought he had seen a vast network of scars over the sword woman's face.

"The woman with the sword - was that your big sister? The one that cut you?"

"Yes," his little fox nodded, sending hair cascading over his thighs like liquid silk. "She is not often here. It is good that I could see her." After a minute, she added: "She approves of you."

He made a non-committal noise, not forgetting the sight of his little fox dying, her blood soaking his clothes. Glancing a look at her face, he said:

"You look terribly pleased with yourself."

"I never liked sister," she answered and he realized that, in a world that seemed to somehow ignore names, she was now talking about the other kitsune that she'd pinned to the floor. She leaned back into him. He stroked his fingers lightly up and down her throat and she sighed and he finally felt the trembling stop as she relaxed into him. "She is very powerful and very greedy."

He hummed and, after a minute, asked:

"Why didn't you make her bare her throat?"

He knew that canines seemed to have that tendency when showing submission though he'd never seen his fox do it before. He did know though that when he touched her throat with his mouth it drove her mad in a very pleased, needy way. She huffed against him.

"Throat baring is for equals. Muzzle fisting is for badly behaved kits."

She was still too far removed from the body he had grown to love to think about bedding but he let his hands slip under the folds of her gown to touch skin.

"I've – 'muzzle fisted' you before," he managed the awkward phrase, remembering cupping her long muzzle when she was in fox form with his fingers. She had made pleased sounds. She shivered and pressed backward into him.

"You are my male. With you that is a playful, teasing motion."

He dipped his head and rubbed his nose against the side of her throat. In his arms, she arched her neck in response, body starting to tremble in a different way.

"What does it mean when you offer me your throat?"

Her voice held the whispers of a whine in it.

"That I am your female."

He hummed.

"Good." Wrapping his arms around her, he shifted them both, laying her on her back. Unzipping and opening his vest so the implements wouldn't touch her, he settled between her legs. His head rested on her chest and he shut his eyes.

"Because I can't sleep without you and if you try again, I will follow you to your room and sleep like this whether your sisters are there or not."

The threat had her humming approval and he felt her slender fingers starting to comb through his hair.

"You will only make them jealous if you do," she answered softly.

He made a sound in his throat and finally began to relax. After a moment, his fox's soft voice asked:

"How did you know she was not me? She is the best of us all with illusion."

His answer rumbled in his throat.

"I don't like being touched. I don't like strangers standing too close. It makes my skin crawl."

Another long pause as he felt sleep finally beginning to steal up over him. Her fingers in his hair continued to rearrange it.

"Your sensei says your family hurt you when you were still a child."

One of his eyes slit open but what was on the foremost of his mind to ask was:

"You've spent time with Jiraiya? Alone?"

Whatever was in his voice had her chuffing almost silent laughter.

"He is a nice man. He tells good stories."

"He's a leech."

More foxy laughter. He liked the way it felt under him and he tucked her a little closer. Her fingers batted lightly at the backs of his shoulders, probably because his nose wasn't in range. It made him smile and he settled again.

"He is a nice man."

He gave a grunt to show his opinion of that. His teacher _was_ a nice man. A good man, no less. Minato respected and admired him as he respected and admired no other. His trust in the man went deep too. There was no one he would trust more. But his teacher also had a weakness for beautiful woman and in her true form, with smudged cheeks and laughing eyes, there was no one more beautiful than his fox.

Not that he thought the other man would try anything if he knew Minato's feelings for the fox. Which Jiraiya did. And not that his fox hadn't proven staunchly faithful. She had. There was still a part of Minato that would always be guarded against any man his fox spent time alone with.

She was still settling from her laughter and her fingers tugged gently on his hair. Her voice was surprisingly soft and serious though as she said:

"It is alright if you don't want to talk about it. I love who you are. How you became such is past and gone."

For a long time, he lay in the dark, listening to the steady sound of her heart under his ear. She was right. He remembered his childhood. He'd lived it after all and for a while in his teenage years, finally free from it, it had almost consumed him. Until the day he'd realized what it was making him become…

"My father and my uncle always felt they weren't given the accolades they deserved, that they had been passed over in favor of less talented shinobi for fame. They were determined that I would not be." He nestled his cheek a little closer to her soft skin and stared into the dark. "For them being a shinobi was about surviving, being the hardest, the toughest. They didn't think regular training was enough. They devised their own training for me, physical, mental and emotional. 'Bones only grow stronger where they are broken' was their philosophy and so they did whatever they could to break me. Then they would find new ways to start the process over again." He exhaled. Speaking of it, he felt the tug, as if his past was a tar pit trying to drag him back. Trying to drown and suffocate him again… It was still easy to fall back into it – except he remembered who he'd been. And he would never go back to that. "When I passed my exams, the ones to become a shinobi in training, I left my house and moved in with Jiraiya. He never asked – but I think it must have been very hard having me in his house those first years. I was determined to be the best but I was determined to do it my way, not my father or my uncle's way. Sometimes, I think I scared him. Sometimes… I think I still do."

"You don't scare me," her voice was soft in the darkness and it was her own. For a moment, he was silent before he replied with:

"Why is your grandfather knowing you are in heat such a threat?"

In his hair, her fingers went still and he made a noise in answer.

"I don't scare you because you're no more afraid of the nightmares that are real than I am." His arms tightened around her. "That's why you can love the sister that loves you enough to cut you, because you've been cut by people that didn't."

She was very still under him and so he simply rolled them both so that she was on top and he wrapped his arms tightly around her, winding fingers into her long hair and the fabric of her dress.

"It was not as bad," her voice was soft and she nuzzled her face into the shelter of his jaw. "My life was never as bad as yours. Mine was good."

He made a sound. Comparisons weren't important to him – beyond the fact that, if it had been as hard as his childhood, he would have had to hunt down whoever had done it to her and make sure their deaths were slow and aware. What was important was –

"I will never frighten you." His fingers stroked silk hair. "That's what matters to me."


	22. Chapter 22

_so, o best beloveds and gentle readers, guess who decided at the last hour to merge two chapters and rewrite certain parts? Yeah, I write ahead but then I go back over the chapters before I post them - and this one needed more than quirk changes. I'm happy with it though and it's still Sunday, so double bonus! **crazylikeanko** - heh, thanks. I figured everyone thought it was time for the mystery of Minato past to, if not explained, at least be clarified a little. We're almost to the end of the story for goodness sake, time to start tying up loose ends, right? **Velo** - heh, good. I liked playing in the subtle world of fox. There just had to be an insert of quiet sensations and refinement - and the sharp, white teeth behind it. Foxy politics. Also - you do my little author's soul good, you know that? That's very flattering to hear that I've managed something unique, I'm going to treasure that for a long time. And, yeah, lol, Minato's world wouldn't be complete with Jiraiya in it ;) keeps him on his toes. **tennisdesi91 **- every Sunday. Or sometimes Saturday. **writing bunny** - it was time for some foxy teeth to show and I don't think the family is as loyal to each other as they'd like others to think. And, you're right, it's hard when at least two of the characters don't have names. I may have to go back and see if I can clear that up in rewrites but dang, it was a bit of a wrestle trying to be distinctive when everyone looks alike - lol. **mc** - you always bring up such interesting points in your reviews. Deceptive copies of Kushina - it's a good point. How would Minato react to having a son by one of them? It opens all kinds of doors to his 'unknown unforgivable sin' against the child, doesn't it? But as you pointed out, he's got his little fox who's just as determined to keep him for herself as he is for her. Hopeful and nervous means I'm doing something right ;) Let's bled off some of that hidden tension in this chapter though, all right? **bylaternlight** - lol, good. yes, I've got character chapters and action chapters and this one was definitely the first. the story's almost over and I thought it was time to finalize some of the things readers were already guessing at. Thank you for the comment - there's a balance on story hints and reveals and I try to find it, not wanting to be too subtle or too obvious and insult the readers either way. I do worry about jarring back story reveals so your review made me doubly happy. **dellende **- thank you. It's important to me that Minato be human. He's such an amazing shinobi in the Naruto-verse. It makes me wonder who the man behind the legend was. One of the main reasons I found myself writing this story in fact, was for the chance to explore who he might have been. The scary side of him as well as the noble side, the parts of him that are vulnerable to hurt and the parts he's willing to open to hurt. I've had fun with that and he's been the best muse I've ever had. He's never once told me 'no' and even when he throws a wrench into what I thought was going to happen, he does it so well that I only notice it later on ;) also - thank you. I wanted Minato and Kushina's relationship to be something so much more solid than simplistic love. I think the epilogue I put on the end of this story will show just how very far it really does go. **watashiwa-nanashi **- hey - welcome to the party. You showed up just in time! I suppose this story is a bit of a 'what might have been'. I'm trying to keep it canon compliant but every time Kishimoto writes a new chapter he could throw all that out the window. Not to mention it's being told from single character perspectives and so sometimes what they see or think they know isn't really what's going on. I guess it's an exploration and all my gentle readers are taking the trip just the same way I am ;) So welcome on board and hang on, things aren't really going to slow down from this point onward. and as always **jini** - who fact checks me wonderfully and has been with me since before I even set this down on computer screen in the first place. Now... let's see if a single sitting total rewrite makes as much sense now as it did to me when I wrote it at three in the morning ;)_

Chapter 22:

"My granddaughter doesn't appear to be wearing her shoes."

Minato look up from the tea he was watching the drop of honey dissolve in and met the bamboo green eyes of the old man sitting across from him. Intelligent fox eyes that were watching him much more closely than someone lacking shoes probably merited.

Under normal circumstances.

Minato made a low noise in his throat and considered leaving it at that. He'd been invited to afternoon tea with the old man and as much as he had tried to work the conversation around to what had happened to the Whirlpool village or what the old fox had meant by another village being lead astray through their own willful blindness, the talk had instead revolved around farming techniques and whether the snow would come early this year and how the rivers seemed to have shifted on their beds in the Land of Stone. Having been talked around in circles, Minato wasn't feeling the most informative himself.

"I took them," he stated despite the perverse desire to let the old man hang. After all, he'd been making a point when he took them and he should make that clear. Green eyes watched him warily.

"Why would you take my granddaughter's shoes?"

"Because they make her mince when she walks," Minato answered calmly before taking another sip of his tea. "And she should be able to walk comfortably."

"All the women in my house wear such shoes."

Minato made the humming noise in his throat again and raised his blue eyes over the rim of the teacup to meet green. There was no apology in his.

It wasn't about the shoes, of course. It was about who his little fox followed. Minato knew that, technically, the shoes were a sign of refinement and the small, carefully balanced steps they required was a sign of elegance and grace. His fox was graceful in them. But, used to her skipping, running, jumping, playfully bounding movements, to Minato they seemed to be hobbles that kept her small and controlled. He hated them because of that.

She had looked worried when he'd taken her shoes this morning before she'd left him to sneak back to her own room in the early dawn light – but she hadn't asked for them back either. The same way she hadn't found or conjured more since then. Minato understood. They were in her grandfather's house; she was under her grandfather's rules. Rules that he suspected went much deeper than human respect for a patriarch and chosen loyalty to a family. At the end of the day, that was why Minato was really here.

He had no more need for fox magic to save a son he had dreamed of. If he had the son, when he had the son, he already knew who the child's mother would be. She might not be aware of it yet – but he was. There was only one woman for him and he had no intention of changing his mind.

He was here for his fox.

Even if she didn't know that.

He didn't know what was coming for Konoha. He didn't know where he would be in a year's time or what he would be asked to do. But he knew that he would have his fox at his side when it came and he knew that he couldn't do that if her grandfather was her lord. As long as the old man could summon her away, he was a threat to what Minato considered under his protection.

That wasn't to be tolerated.

He was here to find her freedom just as surely as he had once thought to come to find his son's.

He just wasn't sure how.

Across from him the old man shrugged and his face was pleasant. His eyes though were aware and sharp.

"She is a free spirit," the old man gave his permission for her to continue without her shoes with an indulgent smile. And he left his warning: "She should enjoy it now before winter comes and she's grateful to be wearing shoes again."

Minato made the same thoughtful noise and sipped his tea. He had offered his opening move, a warning, and the old fox had shifted to counter it. It bothered Minato that he didn't know more of what was going on. His fox's family, and most of all her 'grandfather', had a powerful hold over her. A hold so strong that she could be summoned away or ordered to do things that were against her nature. In her foxy way, she wove around that – but the point remained that someone else had power over her and could force her to do what she would rather not. Minato's very bones rebelled at that naturally. That it applied to his little fox just made it all the more intolerable to him. All that he could think of was that, whatever it was that bound her, perhaps it functioned like a pact – which meant he needed to find the loophole.

And he wasn't going to find a loophole to fox deals in the world of men.

He hadn't told his fox why he was really coming here simply because he suspected she would have found a way to try to thwart him if she'd known. The same way he didn't ask her how to win her freedom simply because he suspected she wouldn't tell him. Or perhaps didn't even know.

"You would do a great deal for my granddaughter."

The way the old fox said it wasn't a question but Minato nodded. If it caught him in some kind of trap, so be it. He wasn't going to lie about that.

"Yes."

"Good," the old man nodded as if that finalized something and he set his empty cup down in front of him. His green eyes met Minato's and he smiled. It looked benign, except it had too many teeth.

"Go. Find my granddaughter. I'm sure she won't be far. Young people should be allowed to be young, before they grow old, like me."

Minato looked at the man across from him and it was on the tip of his tongue to say that, as long as he stayed here, he wouldn't grow old. He'd just live forever, trapped in time, like a fly in dried sap. Caught in an 'in-between' fox moment. He knew he should find that escape from the outside world, and its responsibility, tempting – but he didn't. He found it stifling.

"Thank you," he stood up instead and dipped his head to the older man. Perhaps he should be trying to make the old fox complacent, trying to lull him into a sense of security. Minato wasn't above deception. The fox world appeared built on soft illusions however and, if he were here to find both his and his fox's way out of it, he wouldn't play by their rules to do so. With a nod to the female in the corner of the room that had been softly plucking strings on a box-like instrument, he turned and left.

Once outside, with the door safely shut behind him, he couldn't resist the urge to pull in a deep breath of outside air. It smelled like autumn, fresh and sharp with memories of summer sun and the colored promise of winter's bite. He wondered what time it really was in the outside world. He didn't have to be told to know that fox time ran differently here.

He found his little fox surrounded by much younger children, sisters of hers no doubt, and he thought he recognized one or two of them from his arrival here. They scattered as he approached though and she was left standing alone with her perfect moon painted face in the center of the open hall, a pale glowing ball in her slender hands. He didn't pause as he reached her, instead drawing her into his body. Leaning low, he slanted his lips over hers and found entrance between the pearl pink. The sound she made was his little fox's and he smiled against her mouth.

She was his fox. He was tired of pretending anything else. He would love her in any form she chose to come to him in.

"You love me," he murmured against her lips when she was boneless and her fingers were claws on the fabric of his vest. The ball was lost and forgotten.

"I love you," she answered, wind chimes and moonlight. Then she drew back, just a little and she caught his hand in both of hers.

"Come," she murmured, drawing him toward one of the many small gardens the buildings encompassed. "You must be tired after last night."

Last night was the first night he'd actually slept well but her thumbnails, hidden in his palm, were pressing against him in warning and so he nodded and followed her. The grass bent under their feet and she settled down under one of the many small trees. Her hand tapped her lap and she looked up at him. Her eyes were anything but soft and relaxed.

"Rest your head in my lap. Sleep for now. It is peaceful here and you have time."

His ANBU senses waking, he still lowered himself to the ground next to her and shifted onto his back, resting his head in her lap. It could be a trap, but she wasn't giving him any of the signs that it wasn't one of hers. He was here to free her – but that freedom meant nothing to him if he couldn't trust her. Fox or not, he was hers just as she was his. So he exhaled and forced his muscles to relax, shutting his eyes and folding his hands over his stomach.

"How long will I sleep?" he asked and her fingers stroked through his hair. He felt the touch of her chakra, so familiar by now that it was like his own. It fed sleep into him but it also fed something that felt strangely like healing as well. He didn't resist it.

"Just until tonight," her voice was soothing and he let himself accept that. Perhaps he shouldn't. But what was anything worth if she betrayed him too? "Tonight you will wake and then…" he heard the smile in her voice and it took away the last of his hesitation. Because it was the sound of his little fox's smile. "And then you will keep me from sleeping tonight too."

It sounded like a good idea to him and he grunted his response, allowing her sleep to take him.

His sleep was thick and black and he did not dream of foxes.

When he woke her fingers were still moving through his hair and the sky overhead was full of stars so bright they looked as if the sky must be full of light and there was only a thick, dark cloth with holes in it between him and that. Above him, his fox's eyes were shut and her head was tipped down as if she were resting even though her fingers were still moving through his hair. The face of moonlight and pearl was gone and it was the face he'd grown to love above him. He reached up and stroked a finger down that familiar cheek and her gold eyes opened for him. She gave him a small smile but there was worry in her eyes and they looked ancient and burnished. Her finger found his lips, a caress, a warning, but he'd already known. This was the old fox's place and he was sure it had ears that listened.

"Come," she shifted under him so that he had to move and she stood, holding out her pale hands. "Come and keep me awake, my Yondaime."

He took her hands and stood but there was something he wanted to ask and he didn't think it would cost them anything.

"Your sister called me a Fire Lord."

Her eyes flickered but she nodded. Hands in his, she began walking but it seemed aimless. He let her lead.

"Yes."

"How long have you known?" he asked.

Her eyes rose to him again.

"I haven't. Not for true. It is a path your village _may _take. If they do not – their destiny will be very different and your son will be needed even more than before."

It made him pause, mentally. He had never aspired to become Hokage. He had never wanted to not become such. It had just never been a thought. All his life he had been driven to be the best and serving Konoha had been the only way he could make that fit into anything bearable for him. It was the only thing that made him push to be the best – because it was for someone – something – other than himself. Because someone – something – needed him.

If he became Hokage…

He supposed it would still be serving Konoha. And he would still be driven to be the best. In front of him, his fox had paused to watch him and he slid his arms around her.

"And will you love me still? If Konoha chooses another Yondaime?"

Gold eyes peered at him from under dark lashes. The words were teasing but the look in those gold eyes held reproach.

"You were _my_ Yondaime long before Konoha was allowed to think of you that way."

He leaned down to kiss her.

"I know," he murmured against her lips. "You fell in love with me for my looks long before you knew who I was."

"Yondai-!" her protest was cut off and for a long time after the sounds weren't words that came from her.

Against his, her body flared warm and soft and the air filled with the scent of citrus groves in the summertime. He felt something tug at the core of him, irresistible and promising. Even the thought of refusing it was painful, leaving weeping gashes of loneliness and endless emptiness behind. It was too much, too forceful, too… too desperate a need and he fought it instinctively, the same way he always fought against anything that tried too hard to snare him. Her fingers found his face, burned like brands there against his skin and threatened to swamp his mind with the riot she filled his senses with.

"Shhh," her tongue brushed against his lips and the sound of her voice was an anchor against the drag of need and want and desperation. "Find us the door."

Body already reacting to her presence, coiling tight and needy, his hand left her long enough to flail. Fingertips struck wood and paper and scrabbled. Behind him, a door slid open and they fell through. Rough his feet knocked it closed again and he tightened his fingers on her. Diving deep inside himself he fought the pull of longing and lust she spun through his body and mind.

The longing gentled and he was aware of the sounds of his own rasping breath and pounding heart. He opened eyes to focus on her worried face above him.

"What – ?" he managed and she stroked his hair, crooning low in her throat.

"Grandfather will have felt the flare of my power. He will know you are lost to me for however long I chose to hold you now."

"_That_ was kitsune seduction?"

The edges of her lips curved but her eyes stayed sad.

"It was. A strong dose of it."

He blinked up at her, still stunned and off balance. He had never – he had been the victim of a lot of jutsu in his life – but that… not even when he had faced off against Uchiha clan members –

She nipped at the edge of his jaw, drawing him back to the present with sharp little teeth and his hands rose to stroke along her back gently. His body ached as if it had almost been torn in two.

"It would not hurt now if you had not been stronger than it."

His eyes flickered over to meet hers. Then they narrowed.

"I can still feel it. In the air. It's making the hair on my arms stand up."

She nodded.

"Yes. Grandfather will feel it as well. And it will blind his eyes to what is really happening."

"Why -?" Minato started to ask it but he turned his head as he did and saw…

"Little fox…" his voice was a murmur, absolution for her unexpected attack against him that he never would have held against her to begin with. Around them was a small library full of books and scrolls, a veritable fox's den of nooks and crannies all stuffed with knowledge. And it was far too unorganized to be a library that was open to guests.

Her grandfather's hidden knowledge…

"How long do I have?" he asked and she shifted off of him and settled comfortably on the floor, her back against the wall. Her gold eyes were endless as she answered:

"As long as you like. Tonight, I give you what I promised. And then I will give you freedom."

Sitting up and reaching for the nearest random scroll, he paused. He had heard what she had said. And what she hadn't. Shifting to kneel in front of her, he took her face in his palms and met those golden eyes.

"I'm taking you with me. Tonight," he spoke it against her open mouth and felt her tremble.

"Yes."

He knew she lied. He hadn't though. The only fox magic he intended to carry out of this den was what he already held in his arms. Pulling back, he picked up the scroll again and remembered the fox print like markings he'd seen on the last one her grandfather had held. He had a suspicion though.

"How will I be able to read it?"

Her smile was small but honest.

"Fox magic. It will be in a form that is pleasing to you."

His eyes found hers across the room and very seriously, he set the scroll in his lap so that she would know his entire concentration was on her.

"Fox," his voice was soft. "I have learned from you that the soul is what is or is not pleasing and the form it takes is only extra." His eyes held hers. "I find myself drawn to souls, not bodies."

Her face changed then, going young and vulnerable and weakly hopeful. It reflected in her large, gold eyes.

"Yes?" she asked and it had nothing to do with scrolls. His lips shifted at the edges for her.

"Yes, little fox. Always."

"Good," the pleasure in her eyes wasn't faked or a small thing and she hunkered down a little bit more into her sitting position. Face content, she spread her fingers against the floor under her and shut her eyes.

"Find your answers, Yondaime. I will stay here while you do."

He watched her for just a minute more, gauging the amount of chakra she must be using against what she must have in reserve. The amounts had to be vast to keep the illusion strong enough over this place to trick the fox that had created it. Focused, he turned his attention on the scrolls stashed throughout the room.

He was looking for fox law and he didn't think that kind of thing would be particularly special or secret. The logical places for it were few. And yet, the ANBU side of him wouldn't let him pass over the best places for hidden documents and secrets either. True to her word, no matter what he found, it was legible – though sometimes only barely. And some of the secrets he saw were ancient and dark…

It was tempting to try to take some of those scrolls. Scrolls he didn't have time to read, scrolls full of whispered secrets and jutsu far beyond what humans knew to use. Each time he paused to scan a column though he was aware that, behind him, his little fox was bleeding chakra and that even creatures of magic were not limitless. He committed what he saw to memory and continued his search.

The scrolls on fox law – no, on the laws that governed magical creatures – were in a pile in a barrel to the side of the room. What he read was more than simple social obligations or pacts between beasts he quickly realized. The laws that governed the kitsune also governed other creatures. Larger, much more powerful ones. Ones like the legendary Kyuubi.

He had to stop for a moment when he realized that. It was – powerful. These weren't laws the creatures chose to abide by because they accepted them. They were unbreakable laws that they lived by because they had no alternative. Even the greater demons with their multi-tails, filled with human hatred and suffering… they too were bound by certain actions and certain results.

It changed – everything.

And yet, it changed nothing. Because he still needed to know how to win freedom for one of them. And, behind him, though she never shifted or showed it, the color was fading from his kitsune's eyes.

The scrolls talked a great deal about binding. They said nothing at all about releasing those ties. They did, however, talk about power and the stronger preying on the weaker. It was a brutal, simplistic approach but it seemed to hold throughout the laws that were in the scrolls he scanned through.

For a long moment, he paused, chin in his hand, eyes unfocused. If the scrolls didn't include how to break a binding than it had to be an older, deeper law. One so common and understood that it wasn't written down. Something so simple and basic that stating it was pointless.

His eyes flickered up and he noticed that the room had grown dimmer. The corners were more shadows and hollows than clearly defined edges of walls. Where she sat, his little fox was still and upright but in the gloom, there was no glint of light from her eyes. Quick, he cast one last look at a binding circle drawn on the scroll in front of him, letting his memory soak it in and freeze it for his later recollection. Then he let the scroll roll shut and quickly moved over to where his fox was. Hollow, her eyes blinked up at him when he touched her.

The ceiling seemed much closer to the floor than he had remembered it.

"Come on, little fox," he slipped his fingers around her arm and drew her to her feet. She swayed and blinked again as if trying to clear her vision. "It's time to get out of here."

She lifted her head and sniffed the air. Even without a fox nose, he could smell the loam and earth scent. Her eyes went wide and her fingers closed on his wrist. She was yanking the door open even before he noticed it was old wood and earth colored instead of pristine white.

"He is trying to keep you," her voice was muffled, strained passed long teeth and thick tongue. She jerked him out into an earthen hallway that no longer let out into starlight and green grass.

"Hurry! He is expecting you to be tired after your time with me. If you will not forget your world and live in his dream, he will make you sleep until everything you love is dust!"

Behind them, in the darkness of the fading hall, came the sound of scrabbling claws.


	23. Chapter 23

_okay, my best beloveds and gentle readers, we're coming down the home stretch! Hang on tight and enjoy the ride - I know I am ;) **velo** - what am I going to say that you don't know know already? lol I'm glad the tension's building properly. The last and this chapter were actually the only plot climax I had in mind when I started this story months ago - it's just kind of grown since then. I wanted them to still keep their punch though. Minato's never been one to involve his heart and having to step into the unknown and fight for what's important to him in that is new for him. But - he's Minato so you know he's going to put his all behind it. For this, in fact, more than anything, he's got a reason to risk it all. ** BTB** - hey, welcome to the ride. And I'm thrilled your wife is along for it too! That's awesome you read it to her, on so many more levels than the fact it's a flattering commentary on my story. And thank you for your kind words too. I wanted to try a different approach with this story and I'm pleased that it seems to be working. Most of the time the characters are just bringing me along for the ride though so I'm not sure how much credit I can take for it ;) ** bukkakenojutsu** - lol - good! Hang on, I'm going to try to ramp up the excitement another level or so ;) **tennisdesi91** - glad you enjoyed it. We're working out way toward the end and I'm trying my darnest to wrap up all the loose ends as well as bring everything together. We'll see how I do. **crazylikeanko** - LOL! your sign in/none made me laugh. that was good - thanks. And, oh dear, someone's been paying attention on the Nature Channel, haven't they? You get a gold star and a big hug. Clever clever crazy. And, we'll have to have an after party when this story finally finishes. I'll bring the ice cream! **writing bunny** - here we are, new chapter to answer last week's problems - and start new ones ;) Thank you too because I always worry that I'm either not giving enough away, giving too much away, and/or making it sound boring in the process. But it was time for Minato to clarify what he was really after and being Minato he's pretty clear cut. I like the shift he's managed since the beginning of the story ;) **watashiwa-nanashi **- yep, we're nearing the end - of _my_ story. The Naruto-verse has quite a bit to cover afterward though and it will be quite a while before Kushina gets pregnant. The war is still only a whisper in the wind at this point and Leaf seems to have taken a while before they joined in that. I figure our duo deserves a bit of a time lapse before they have to jump right into losing everything. And, I'm kind of going with the 'magical animals' umbrella. They're all magical animals, the same way all canines are canines. It's just that there are distinctions, mostly self-imposed, between them. The toads have agreed to become summons, the kitsune haven't (or at least this branch hasn't. Yet.) But at the end of the day they're all still creatures of our myths and fairy tales shifted to fit the naruto-verse. Don't know if that helps, or just confuses, but it's how I've tried to work things so it fits. **bylaternlight** - well, you can relax - probably about halfway through the chapter. And then you might want to hang on again lol. And wow - thank you. Your compliment about what the last chapter reminded you of really made my day. Especially since I ended up reworking it at the eleventh hour the way I did. I'm keeping this grin for a while, thank you :D **mc **- you know, you raise the one question I don't think I'm going to get an answer to. Whether the little fox was in love with Minato before and set out to win his love (and then realized it was dangerous for him and tried to back-track) or whether she was a snare for him and went into it that way, falling in love without meaning to in the process. I don't honestly know. And I suspect I won't find out either since I view this only from Minato's angle and, by the end of this chapter, he's stated just how much it matters to him why she came in the first place. I adore the way you phrased it and _maybe our reading group can chime in too because I'd be just as curious as you to find out what everyone's opinions and theories were_. Probably as varied as our best beloveds. **dellende **- you came! for some reason I was worried I wouldn't hear from you this week. and there's absolutely no offense. I love your speculation. It means I'm doing something right as a writer but more, I love hearing other people's thoughts :) calling the kitsune seduction a manifestation for instance, that's the perfect word. and, she'll never give the hint, but Kushina is one of the strongest out of all of the 'granddaughters'. She's just never cared enough for foxy politics to make use of it. She held off her own grandfather's magic for hours. She's no lightweight. And Minato and the Hokage - so many stories have him just as single minded in his aim for it as Naruto is. I really had no idea how he would react to the concept. But the way he wrote for me - it was a much calmer acceptance of a much heavier responsibility for a village he loves more than his own life. I couldn't get him to squeal with joy because... well, he just isn't going to look at it that way. And, having written that, I wonder if Naruto in the manga hasn't come to a similar conclusion himself in a way. Moving from wanting the position for recognition to wanting the position because it lets him protect his precious people. Speculate away, it's bread and meat to me :D and special thanks to **jini **for her fact checking and support from the very start. Real Life has run away with her so any mistakes in these last few chapters are mine but I know I wouldn't have felt confident enough to post this without her watching over my shoulder for so far. And thanks to **velo** who has been kind enough to agree to be my test subject - I mean, test reader on these last few chapters to make sure I don't reach the very end of our story and either fizzle out disappointingly or explode into a mess and leave everything up in the air. So - gentle readers and o my best beloveds - shall we....?_

Chapter 23:

He followed her through the decaying hallways and passages and he felt the beat of her chakra as they ran. Ahead and behind them, the world was shifting. Roots pressed through earth brown paper walls. Wooden flooring changed without warning to packed dirt. Openings gaped to the sides of them as they passed and he glimpsed, once, the interior of a small den, a man that was little more then a skeleton of breathing skin and bones on the floor while a small fox sat next to his head and crooned to him. In a voice that was more breath than vocal, he called her 'beautiful'.

Minato would be damned before he'd let himself end up the same way.

Next to him, his fox was panting and desperately pale. He reached out to scoop her up but she shook her head, blood colored hair catching shadows.

"No," she gasped it. "He knows. The second we started to run – he knew. He is coming to claim you now and I am not strong enough anymore to stop him. I have to stay in contact with the den. It is how I stop it from changing so that we are not trapped."

"You're forcing your own dream on your grandfather's."

She made a coughing noise and continued to pull him along through twisting passages he didn't recognize anymore. Behind was the sound of a hundred murmuring voices, barking foxes and women's screams. The air was full of dirt and musk. In the darkness, he knew he was far from the human world. For the moment, he ran – but he knew, eventually, he would have to fight. Used to the chaos of fighting, he was at least comfortable with the thought of improvising as he went.

His fox fell then, her hand leaving his wrist and he spun instantly, kunai sliding free as he dropped into a crouch facing back the way they'd come. Silk and satin hair, she struggled to her feet and caught at his vest with long, pale fingers. The air was very dark and crowded now.

"No," she pulled him and he followed simply because it was where she went. "We are almost there now. Almost free."

He heard the lie in her voice but he would have followed her through all time and so he only closed his hand around her wrist to keep her close. Three more turns in the tunnel revealed light and air though, so cold and sharp it bit his skin and raked claws through his chest. There was snow at its entrance and tiny marks from fox paws and bare human feet. It burned and yet it was real. His heart recognized it.

And then she flickered in his hand.

Wide eyed he turned, toes of his shoes already dusted with the snow whispering in from outside. Her eyes were precious gold as she gave him a soft smile.

"I promised you return from this place to your own," she whispered and even as she flickered again he felt her and knew it was entirely her. Unless…

But no one created shadow clones that complete.

He cursed himself for being an idiot and underestimating his little fox. Apparently – she could.

"I love you," she said and then, like mist caught in the wind, the form in front of him was gone. He smelled lemon and earth – but they were weak compared to the scent of ice cold snow and open wind.

He looked back at the tunnel behind him and watched it gather itself, rippling and changing, a throat tightening and ready to swallow him whole. It didn't take a great deal of intelligence to know that it was only waiting for him to go back for her. This time, she wouldn't be with him to stop her grandfather's dreaming.

With a flat exhale and narrowed eyes, intent on shaking her hard when he found her again, Minato turned and headed back down into the gloom.

The shadows swallowed him quickly but there were no teeth or claws in that shifting darkness. That fact didn't surprise him, he was going back into the den after all. He didn't trust it to remain that way for long though. Somewhere ahead, his little fox had hidden herself so well that he'd missed her trading places with a clone of herself and the anger at that fueled him. Done playing by foxy rules, he called up his own chakra and sent it sweeping out ahead of him. In his mind the den became as clear as day and a shiver of disgust threatened to move up his spine at the vast amounts of carefully nourished and yet still dying human chakra he felt ferreted away in hidden corners throughout the vast, ant like complex. He was tempted to think that, one day, he'd come back for them but his time in ANBU told him otherwise.

Fox chakra, gold and bamboo green and pale red flowed like a river through the low dirt walls and cramping ceiling above, spider silk thread of almost visible fire, but it was not _his_ fox's chakra and so he noted it and moved on. He knew where she'd pulled her substitute on him. It was the only time they'd lost physical contact, when she'd fallen. It hadn't been that far from the exit. Except, now, it wasn't there to be found. None of the passages were the way they had been and their winding nature constantly forced him to have to turn aside from where he thought he should go to try to work his way around to it from a different angle. Determined and more than a little angry, he pushed ahead with single-minded determination.

When he finally did stumble into the small hollow, low to the floor and at the bend of a curve to find her, it was as much a subtle pull on his heart as the dying echo of her chakra that made him pause and look.

Flat and small and boneless, his little fox's fur was almost the color of the earthen depression her body was lying in. Going to a knee, he slipped a hand under her limp, furred body and found her cool to the touch and impossibly frail and tiny in her animal form. He felt no comforting heartbeat against his hands, no movement in her ribs as he lifted her. His mind whispered what that meant, but he ignored it. Careful, gentle, he tucked her form into his vest and zipped it closed, sacrificing an arm to cradle her there against his chest and stomach.

He would not – he shook his head. He would not leave her.

Her weight was almost nothing against him as he turned and began to work his way back toward where he remembered the light.

In response, the walls around him closed in even more and the dirt was choking. He bowed forward around his fox and followed the web of his chakra but the tunnels twisted away from where he wanted to go and even his reliable sense of direction grew confused. Blue eyes narrowing, aware of the unmoving lump he held against his chest, he poured more of his chakra into the web his senses relied on. There was something, something he must be missing. This was a battle of wits and he focused his, searching for logical points to give him the answer. The tunnels were illusions – and yet, they weren't. When he moved through paper and wooden hallways – whether they were actually fox tunnels or not – they were still passages of some sort. There had to be passages that led to the surface and it didn't make sense that they would be mobile. His mind caught a flicker in the web of his chakra and he focused on it.

While he had been busy looking for large illusions, they had been showing him walls where there weren't any, misleading him with illusions so mundane and normal he hadn't thought to question them. He didn't waste time cursing his stupidity and instead concentrated on the thrumming threads of his net, focusing on the almost invisible fluctuations of it. Years of familiarity showed him the almost imperceptible differences where it passed through walls that were not there. Eyes half closed and concentrating, he followed it toward where the fox chakra ended and only dull earth resonated.

"Namikaze!"

Minato's head snapped around at the sound. He had almost passed a side tunnel and, looking back down it now, he saw the flicker of artificial light toward the end of it. Eyes narrowing for focus, he saw figures, human figures in familiar blue and green uniforms. The light glinted off the silver symbol of the leaf on their headbands as they ran toward him.

"Namikaze! Is that you?"

The voice was familiar too and Minato turned to face the rapidly approaching group. In the flickering light, he saw Umino's dirt smudged and tired face and behind him, he recognized several others.

"Takagi." To him his voice sounded dry and unused.

"Where have you been? We've been looking for you since it started snowing. Our tracker only just managed to pick up your trail late last night." The other man looked around at the encroaching tunnel and winced. "Let's get out of here."

"Takagi," he caught the other man's attention with his soft voice and brown eyes looked in question at him. Feet already spread for balance, Mainto simply fed chakra into his open palmed blow as he landed it against the other man's chest. The figure went flying backward, taking most of the others that had been with him as well.

"Humans use names. Foxes use pack positions." Minato's voice was sharp. "And Takagi would never presume that it was me, and not the creatures near me, that needed rescuing." As he spoke, he dropped low and used his momentum and a quick kick in the enclosed space to drop the last figure that his blow to Umino's doppelganger hadn't knocked aside. Then he was on his feet and heading back down the tunnel he'd been after originally, one hand still spread over the form tucked into his vest to keep her close. He didn't stay for the fight or to finish what he'd started. He had no desire to kill foxes – only to be done with them.

All but one of them at least.

They weren't done with him though. After Umino, the illusions came at him in rapid succession. Cave-ins, skeletal fox victims begging him for help, friends and enemies, monsters and seductresses. And he wasn't stupid enough to think they, real or not, couldn't hurt or cripple him if he gave them the chance.

One hand always possessive over the fragile lump his fox made in the front of his vest, he called up jutsu and blade to deal with everything that came at him. Apparent friend or foe, he treated them all with the same ruthless efficiency and moved forward. He didn't spare or go out of his way to destroy, he didn't flinch when it was a familiar face he put a blade through. They were simply obstacles in his way and he removed them as quickly and efficiently as possible and moved on. If they were mere illusions, they died when they were obviously useless. If they were foxes in borrowed form – it had been their own choice to put themselves between him and his exit. Ahead of him the tunnels split and branched and turned back into themselves, writhing like dying snakes, but his chakra was stronger and he could feel where there were no more foxes and dying humans. Determined, ignoring the blood and bruises he now wore, always rolling with the blows so that his fox was protected, he pushed ahead.

Until Kyuubi stood in his path.

He hesitated then. Not because he believed it any more than he believed any of the other illusions but because… the Nine-Tailed Fox was… familiar. The lashing tails, the slaver running from the gums, the mad, mad eyes… he knew that. He knew this creature of legend; he knew this feeling of facing it alone. He had stood in front of it before and felt it's fury strip his flesh from his bones. But… when?

It felt like a memory – and yet it had never happened.

Why was facing the Kyuubi so familiar…?

It roared and he called up fire in response, pushing it outward from himself in a ball that consumed and shook the earth as it passed.

He was running out of chakra. And he'd be damned before he'd let it end that way.

The Kyuubi wavered and Minato was passed, the marked tag on the kunai he'd throw at the same time he'd used the fire jutsu allowing him to slip between moments to join it, far down the hall from where the mad illusion shook the earth with its screams. The mystery of a memory he couldn't place would have to wait. Ahead, he could sense the end of the tunnels. The path ahead of him widened – and he saw more tunnels. More dirt walls. More distance to go.

"I have closed the exits," the voice was calm behind him and after the roaring of the Nine-Tails and his other enemies, it was almost painful. Minato turned, fingers spread firmly over the body of his fox.

Her grandfather in pure fox form sat on his haunches in the entrance of the tunnel he had just come out of, silver and red fur and bamboo green eyes. Minato narrowed his own eyes and drew in breaths to help center himself in response.

"I am leaving." There was no question of it in Minato's voice and for clarification he added: "And I'm taking her with me."

The ancient fox shook his head.

"I will never let you leave. You have a power we would rather have for ourselves. You will stay here and chose a mate and forget you were ever anywhere else. We need you. Our dreamers have foreseen it."

"No." Minato shook his head. Spreading the fingers of his free hand wide, he let the chakra begin to pool in his palm. "I won't."

Blue glinted in fox reflective eyes and the beast shifted. Above him, Minato took one last bearing of where he could sense the end of the den – and then he let the chakra web fade and poured it all into the now swirling ball of energy in his palm. Over the whirling blue, he met fox eyes.

"I understand. I finally do. We are in the land of the beasts and it is about power here. Strength and dominance. Well, old fox, I am stronger than you even in your own den, surrounded by everything that feeds your chakra. Today I let you live. But if you ever – **ever** – come near me or what I claim as mine again, I will end not only you but all of your family but two. See me now in your own center of strength and know I speak the truth. Watch me abide by _your_ laws in this and watch me take what I am strong enough to take."

With a sharp crack, the sphere in his palm solidified into pure chakra energy and with a grunt, Minato thrust it upward at the ceiling. Power expanded in blinding wave after wave, honed by his determination, his control and his will. Around him earth and stone exploded and vanished. Blue became white and swept away everything else. And when it was over, Minato was crouched in an earth crater breathing hard through his nose, palm still spread over his fox in the protective covering of his vest. Barren trees and snow bordered the crater but nothing else survived inside it.

Minato coughed his laugh and forced himself to his feet even though that simple move threatened to topple him entirely. A distant part of his mind, still functioning, was pleasantly surprised that the technique he'd been working on had finally worked and duly noted that he would have to think of a name for it eventually.

His first step forward threatened to pitch him onto his face but he stayed upright. After that, it was easier to keep moving for the simple sake of balance and so he did, pushing slowly forward until the tracks he left were in snow instead of mud.

When had winter come?

He'd been gone too long.

His blood left a trail on the snow. He shouldn't waste that. He should summon Gamabunta. Just as soon as he managed to gather enough of his depleted chakra to ignite the small spark needed…

"You must leave her behind. Her body is kitsune. It does not belong in the human world."

There was a fox in the tree next to him and he ignored it. It dropped down to limp next to him, red and silver hair singed. Minato's smile was small and grim. The old fox wasn't strong enough to defeat him – but he knew that trickery was still allowed. He concentrated on walking forward one step at a time.

"That's her choice." The smile cracked a little bit more and he exhaled what should have been a laugh. "And I've finally won her the chance to make it for herself, haven't I?"

Next to him the fox didn't answer at first. When it finally spoke again, it said:

"There is no choice to make, young lord. My granddaughter is dead. Her body belongs to her people."

Minato's feet missed their step then and he almost went down. Barely, he caught himself in time. Against his chest, the body he carried was unmoving and boneless as his misstep jarred it. He tightened his arm around her and forced another step.

"Dead or not, she is mine now. She belongs with me."

"She never loved you."

They were both leaving a trail of blood in the snow now and the old fox was starting to make small noises with each exhale.

"She was sent to entrap the next Hokage of your people. She is my best because she believes her own lies after a time. We knew that seduction would not work on you unless it was a kind you were not prepared for. Being pure, she was the best choice. She may be confused, but it is not love she feels. You are a tool and a gift to her but not a love."

Tired, bone tired and only thinking of the warmth of his bed back home, Minato finally stopped walking. He braced himself against the bark of a black tree and looked down at the fox next to him, palm still spread across the lump in his vest that was his own fox. He'd won – and they both knew it. Only this remained.

"Old man," his voice was raw and rough in his throat. "Even if everything you say is true, it doesn't matter." Lowering his head to meet those ancient eyes, he simply said: "I love her."

It was the only answer he needed and he left the ancient fox behind and continued onward through the snow, holding her limp body close. Dead or not, perfect lie or not, he loved her.

To him, it was all that mattered and it gave him the last piece he needed to spark the glint of chakra against his blood. Just as the river, glinting cold and gray between the trees came into view, he summoned the toad. The ground was still shaking under the giant beast's arrival when Minato finally gave in and pitched forward. Darkness took him and he let it come.

He dreamed of fox kits playing in a field and somewhere, far, far away, the sound of his fox woman calling his name.


	24. Chapter 24

_here we go, gentle readers and o best beloveds. Game time. ** velo** - I love that you're still giving me reviews even though you've already read these chapters. I would have missed your reviews. I love that you pick up on the details. Naruto couldn't get EVERYthing he's good at just from his father - lol. And illusion clones that feel real - it just seemed more a kitsune thing. I'm also pleased that the kitsune themselves seem to be coming off right, for lack of a better term. They are animals, or animal spirits, or animalistic and so their 'morals' would be entirely different from human ones. I've tried to show them that way, that their 'good' and 'bad' are animal approaches to the concepts - and, being foxy, fluid at the least. And yeah, strange, but the fox has humanized the man ;) **crazylikeanko** - cool is good. I like cool :D **necro-wulf** - reading a new writer is always a gamble. Do they know what they're doing? Are they going to finish the story 'right'? Are they, honestly, going to finish the story at all? As a reader, you invest a certain amount of your trust and time into them and their stories on faith. I know because I'm a ffnet reader myself and I've been (and still am) in that boat often enough. All I can tell you is I'm doing my darnest to make sure the time and energy you guys have put into not only reading my work but in actually taking the time for thoughtful reviews is paid off with dividends. I may not always write what people want, but I hope that I always write something satisfying all the same. At least I'm trying to. **tennisdesi91 **- huzzah for the rasengan! Just couldn't resist that one, you know. And, thank you. Kyuubi gets his screen time even when he's not there. I know I got a shiver of foreboding when I wrote that part. There's something very bittersweet about writing a story with the future already in place. **mc** - lol! yes, the little fox will not leave your side if you bring ramen. And - thank you. To love because you do, not because it gives anything back to you - all this time Minato has been teasing, and yet also honestly drawing out the little fox's 'I love you's - I wanted, when he finally made his own confession of love, to have him do so in a way that was - well, 'Minato'. To serve for no other reason than to serve, to love for no other reason than to love. He doesn't love Konoha for what it does for him. He doesn't fight and bleed and sacrifice who he is because it thanks him or even knows. He does so because he loves what it is and what it can be. For him, when he loves his little fox, how could he love her for or as anything less? It's a dangerous way to love - but I hope the little fox gave him more than enough in return for such a love. **writing bunny** - lol. yeah, I have a hard time keeping plots simple. Or I should say, my plots refuse to stay as simple as I originally intend them to be. They never listen to me. Sorry to hear about your computer though. It's crazy how much I rely on mine and there is much sympathy for you and yours even if the glitch was only temporary. **bylaternlight** - heh, you know my writing well. :) I suppose this chapter answers your question of whether things are going to slow down or not. hey, we've only got two more chapters and an epilogue after this one! You know I have to ball everything up and wrap it up fast. ;) here we go. **demonegg!** - how happy you always make me! You know that already though. I'm flattered you're reading this because I know it's not your fandom. Like mc, you came because it's me, and that's both staggering and flooring to me. It gives me faith for getting published yet. Then we'll all throw a real party somewhere! And, I love, love love that you find depth in my characters. Plot is important to me but you know me. Nothing matters to me the way writing a character honestly and human does. If I fail that, I figure nothing else can make up for it. oh just *hugs* for being here. And, heh, if you like my descriptives, I know I'm doing something right. Nobody writes/paints pictures into stories the way you do. **bukkakenojutsu** - ahhh, yeah! You know that HAD to be coming right? There was no way I was going to NOT let Minato use that at least once ;) **greywizard-dumblemort **- hey, welcome to the ride. You're just in time! and yeah, I just couldn't write Minato as a Naruto knock-off. I think it was Jiraiya that mentioned in the manga that Naruto gets his personality from his mother and Minato... Minato just managed too much kick ass things in his short life to not be focused. Even the very brief glimpses we get of him in the manga and the anime - he seemed very 'business' and yet not at all cold or uncaring. I tried to catch that here. He's complex all the way down through the layers of him and he's been so much fun to write for. as muses go, I adore this one. **dellende** - you made it :D no worries, you made it to the party with time to spare. I really like that image you paint - black and white, total silence fight sequence. When this gets bought by Kishimoto and made into a movie - I'm definitely putting it in the stipulation that you get to advise ;) In the meantime though, heh, thanks. And yeah, all this time it's been about how much the little fox loves Minato. I wanted to - finally and simply - show how much he loves her in return. Glad it worked. **hadar **- as in the big silver ball that gives us answers? lol and, thanks. That myth theme did run through didn't it? I'm glad you're enjoying :D all right, peps - seat belt time!_

Chapter 24:

Something was wrong.

It invaded the darkness wrapped around his mind, sent needles of electricity down his lower spine and the back of his neck. Muddled, like a swimmer drowning in mud, he struggled toward consciousness, not even sure what he was doing but knowing that something was dangerous – and he needed to be awake to face it.

"Whoa-"

The voice near him registered as friendly and so he didn't lash out in automatic response. The hands that were on his shoulders were also helping him sit up instead of trying to push him back down and so he knew it was a friend. With a cough that started out weak and quickly turned into something painfully wracking in the sharply cold air, Minato got himself vaguely upright and managed to open his eyes. The world around him spun, blurred and then finally focused.

He'd never felt so hollowed out and ancient. Of course, he didn't remember the last time he'd run through his complete store of chakra either.

"You look horrible, Minato."

It was a sign of just how bad he really must look that Umino actually stated it flat out instead of teasing and Minato cracked a tired smile.

"You should see the other guy," he managed.

"You could use a bath too."

Minato coughed. Apparently, 'bad' didn't equal the world ending. Yet. He realized that one of his hands was over a large lump in the front of his vest and he spread the aching fingers. No motion greeted him. He also realized he was sitting on frozen dirt and, looking around, that they were outside the hospital grounds. He realized that there were shinobi nearby but none of them were paying attention to him. Even chakra drained, he could feel the tension of raw power in the air.

"What's going on?" his voice cracked and he cleared his throat in annoyance at it. Umino's hand stayed on his shoulder as the other man continued to kneel near him.

"Your toad brought you to the hospital. Smart move considering you look starved out and half dead. Unfortunately, the hospital's a no-zone right now and all our healers are busy. I said he could leave you with me and he went to find Jiraiya. Aki's on her way to take you back to our place."

If Gamabunta had taken it upon himself to help them, it meant something was serious. Toads didn't usually help unless specifically asked by the person that had summoned them and Minato knew he hadn't asked anything. That Gamabunta was off to find Jiraiya under his own initiative meant things must be passed the point of 'very bad'. Still... Jiraiya was the Toad Sage. If anyone could find him quickly, it would be one of the toads he shared a bond with. Minato's eyes shifted to the hospital and his gut twisted again with that same feeling of danger. From where he was though, the building looked pristine.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Umino shook his head, dark eyes concerned.

"Something's wrong inside the hospital. Some kind of corrupting jutsu we've never seen before. No one's sure exactly what's going on because we haven't heard from anyone inside the hospital but the shinobi that can sense it say there's only death left inside. It's trying to spread outward and everyone with any warding skills at all are out here, trying to keep it contained. The Hokage sent for the Sannin but Jiraiya is off on a personal mission, Tsunade is helping one of our border villages with a plague outbreak and no one can find Orochimaru. Our healers are trying to figure out what's going on and how best to defeat it."

"I know that smell." Minato braced a hand on Umino's shoulder and struggled to push himself to his feet.

"What?" Umino helped him stand instead of trying to keep him down and for that act alone, he had Minato's everlasting loyalty.

"I know that smell," he repeated, voice dropping a tone. That – smell. Rot and death and swamp muck. Oh, he knew that smell… And this was going to be the last time it came near anything that mattered to him if it killed him to catch and end it for good this time.

"Takagi," he waited until his friend met his eyes. Then he unzipped his shinobi vest and very tenderly lifted the bedraggled, limp body of a small fox from its safe place there. Gentle, he passed it to the other man.

"Take care of her. I don't care what happens, you do right by her."

"Minato?" Umino took the body in his arms and the furred head lolled hopelessly. Minato righted it gently, tucking the nose down so that it was pressed into the other man's vest. Understanding warred with disbelief in Umino's dark eyes.

"She is everything," Minato simply affirmed and then he turned to face the hospital. His body felt old and he realized that he had less muscle mass than he was used to, that his physical energy was as drained as his chakra. How long had he been in that thrice damned den?

"You can't get in," Umino protested. "Minato, the shinobi have it sealed. No one can get in or out."

Minato turned his head to give Umino a smile over his shoulder.

"Takagi, one of the first things I did once I perfected my technique was to place one of my marks inside the hospital in case I ever needed to bring anyone there in an emergency. I can get inside."

"We're coming too, sensei."

Aware of the fact that he was so tired even children could sneak up on him, Minato turned his head to see two sets of very determined eyes. It made him smile and he reached out his hand. Kakashi and Obito immediately crowded close.

"You stay. Help Jiraiya when he arrives. I'll come back."

Obito looked worried. But Kakashi… the boy's eyes told him they knew he was lying. He wasn't. It just might be that he came back on a flat board, carried out in death instead of still alive.

"Sensei," it was Kakashi and the fact he was the one doing the team speaking indicated to Minato just how serious his students were. The silver haired boy stepped closer. "We are going with you. We're a team. The team follows the team leader."

"This is what we faced on the journey back from the Land of Grass. Except it is our own people this time, not bats." Minato shook his head. "You will remain here."

"Sensei!" Obito burst. "Rin is in there!"

"What?" Minato's blue eyes snapped wide for a moment and he turned back to the hospital. Rin... He freed a knife with one hand and stretched out his arm to gather the two young shinobi under it.

"Come."

Umino had said that there was only death left in that hospital. If he was right… if he was right the creature that had created it would regret living. Minato did not intend to be quick in his response.

Reaching deep inside himself, he stretched – and opened the first three of his inner chakra gates. Power pulsed through him again but it was weak. He was drawing on his very life energy now and it was already alarmingly low. He ignored what that meant and took the children between moments with him, slipping sideways through time.

somewhere, among the dead, Rin was waiting for them. And he would never try to keep teammates from each other. If she were alive, they would save her. If she were dead and her body was being used… it was their right to give her freedom from that too. There were worse things than terrifying memories of a companion. There was guilt and regret. Minato knew they were children… but they were shinobi first. They had a right to make that decision for themselves.

The hospital came into focus within an instant and Minato stumbled. More than anything, that alarmed him. He had fought with low reserves before… but he had no reserves at this point. The opened seals to his life force should have been pulsing power through him by this point… and yet he was barely standing and he knew that the cause of that was as much will power and stubbornness as any remaining energy in his system.

It wasn't a good scenario.

Kakashi and, in a slightly less smooth move, Obito both dropped into protective crouches despite the disorientation of their arrival and Minato noted with a surprised smile, they were in positions that protected him. His eyes narrowed as he raised them and looked around.

They were in Tsunade's office. His theory on leaving his marker there was that it was probably the safest place in the entire hospital and it was also where the village's best healer might be. Not that she knew he'd left his marker on one of the bookcases of her office. If she ever did find out he suspected he'd get his first feel of what one of her punches felt like. At the moment though, the office was empty, its door and windows shut, its shelves picked over already, its mistress far afield at the moment.

Minato drew a second kunai and crouched down near the children, resting a hand on each of their shoulders around the handles of the blades.

"You will leave what is outside this door to me. Your only job is to find and save Rin. If we become separated, you will continue that mission and then you will exit to the hospital grounds where the shinobi outside can keep an eye on you until the – "

A strange, creeping feeling cut him off in mid-sentence and he paused, eyes going distant as he attempted to trace it down. It took him a minute and then his eyes narrowed again. He looked back at his charges.

"We have a time limit. Whatever jutsu was loosed here is still at work." He could feel it, feel it like cold swamp water, trying to trickle down over his spine and infest through his nerves. Trying to slip in and take him over. Sparing a little extra chakra he slid his hands over the backs of the children and felt the weak tendrils there too. He would have thought of this before they'd even arrived - if he'd been thinking clearly. He'd berate himself for being sloppy later. After the children were safely out of here. "Hold still," he instructed and while Obito nodded, wide-eyed, Kakashi simple froze where he was, half lidded eyes fixed on the far wall.

He didn't have the proper tools or ingredients but Minato had long ago learned the strength and importance of improvising. So he bit his thumb to draw blood and with careful concentration, he drew a seal on each of his students. It was crude and drew too much of his chakra away from himself, but it managed the simple task of sealing their chakra into themselves and sealing out foreign chakra. It wouldn't last long. He'd just have to make sure it was long enough. Buying time, he opened the next two chakra gates inside himself.

Sometimes, he wished he'd taken up that branch of study involving seals the way he'd always wanted to instead of becoming ANBU. There was a logic to how seals were formed and it came easily to him. He'd thought it was too slow a subject to be useful though and so he hadn't spent as much time concentrating on it as he should. If – when he made it out of this alive, he was going to make sure he made time to rectify that.

Whatever jutsu had been loosed here, it was still active but weak. As if it's first burst had used up most of its power to do the job and what was left was the slowly spreading stain, growing weaker over time and distance. From what he felt, guessing, Minato would deduce that the creature of this nightmare jutsu focused on one point and then expanded outward from there to infect as far as the chakra would flow.

The hospital had been the start. If the attack hadn't been sensed in time – how far would the corruption have spread throughout the rest of Konoha?

His eyes flickered blue fire.

The creature that had brought this filth into his life died. Tonight.

That thought gave him a little more energy. Nothing focused him like the kill. He'd given up worrying that it made him less human years ago. It also served to burn off the clinging corrupting jutsu he felt on himself. He couldn't wear a seal, not when his chakra was being drawn from the broken seals inside himself. As weak as it had grown, it was his will against the will behind the death jutsu now.

Minato's will of Fire against death's will. It would be an interesting conflict if nothing else.

"Come," he moved by his students and out into the hallway. "Tell me where Rin will most likely be."

The hospital was dim. The lights on the walls were still on but it was as if there were a thickness to the air that kept their brightness from reaching far. Shadows hung in corners, cobweb things that shifted without wind or reason. In the hallway, the doors gaped like broken teeth, revealing darkness beyond that was painted shades of black and gray. No light from outside came through the windows. Shinobi feet silent in the emptiness, the hollow echo of the place became a loud scream in their ears as they moved quickly through the hallways. At the edges of his hearing, perhaps a figment of imagination, Minato through he heard the faint rasp of feet on tile behind them. His side vision showed him nothing when he glanced back though.

When the first form thrust itself out of the doorway just as he passed it, it was almost a relief from the grinding tension to have something actually happen. Silent, he dropped low and thrust up through the chest of a man he'd last seen carrying someone's shopping bags in the merchant district. It registered and Minato was already swinging the second kunai up backhanded, putting enough force behind it to shatter the skull. The smell of rot and swamp muck filled the air then and furniture crashed as other forms, friends, neighbors, fellow shinobi, sudden appeared from other doorways and at the ends of the hall. When they moved it was with a looseness of joints that should have been impossible in a living creature, and no matter how well trained or lacking they had been in life, they all moved with a single intensity of purpose now, snapping teeth and brutal hands.

"Keep moving!" Minato's voice was flat and calm as he gave the order. They weren't here to fight their own people. They were here to find Rin. And he was here to kill a creature. His hand caught Obito's shoulder and spun the boy, propelling him through a gap between attackers. Minato followed a second later and stale blood followed him as both of the moving dead, a nurse and someone Minato thought he had last seen laughing with his friends at the ramen stand, fell, throats too severed to support their heads. On the ground, their bodies continued to move, struggling to follow the retreating forms of the living.

There were too many of them though. The hospital was multi-leveled and even during simple times, it was full of staff and visitors. What would keep a living being in a bed didn't register to the dead and even the patients were on their feet now and mobile. And they didn't move slowly either. Minato was grateful that their training seemed to have fled with their lives but they made up for it in sheer strength and lack of reaction to pain or lost limbs. And while he was fighting to conserve his energy, it was still bleeding away from him, literally as well as figuratively now. He went down under a jonin and gardener, calf caught firmly in the mouth of an armless doctor. The bodies wailed as they piled on top of him, fingers pulling, teeth fastening. He managed to fumble a scroll free from his vest and flames burst out of it, incinerating the forms on top of him and singeing his eyelashes and bangs.

Rolling he stumbled to his feet and almost fell again as a woman leaped onto his back. The weight was suddenly gone though and Obito was pulling him along. Kakashi freed his short sword from the form he'd dismantled and came right on their heels.

After that, Minato stopped fighting as if he didn't have a team with him.

"She'll be here. I know she will!" Obito was leading, headed for the apothecary room. Herbs… of course. Minato and Kakashi sprinted to catch up with the dark haired Uchiha before he could open the door, but Obito broke the handle of the door and tore it open just as they reached him, young voice calling hopefully:

"Rin?!"

Minato pulled the boy back just as a pot flew toward him. It crashed against the wall and with a surprised burst of hope himself, Minato turned his head to its source. It would be the first time one of their attackers had used a weapon.

Another flash of movement caught his attention and he caught Kakashi, pulling the boy down with him as he dropped low and into the room. The sound of another pot shattered over their heads, making him cough as the powder that had been in it rained down to coat him.

"Sensei?!"

"Yes," he kicked out, knocking the door shut and rolled painfully to a crouched position, bracing his back against it as much for his own support as to hold it closed. His arms were suddenly full of little girl though and that made everything all right.

"Oh, sensei! I was so scared! Everyone is dead!"

Obito crouched down next to them and worriedly patted the girl's shoulder as Minato slung an arm around her and hugged her tight. Her short brown hair was matted with sweat and blood and she smelled like smoke. But she was alive. Somehow… she was alive.

"It's all right, Rin," he let her go so that she could hug a beaming Obito and an uncomfortable, and relieved looking, Kakashi. "We came to get you out of here."

Against his back the door started to shudder as bodies began to throw themselves at it. His eyes moved over the room but he already knew. Herb rooms didn't have windows or vents that would let moisture in to ruin the carefully protected dried plants within. The door behind him was the only way out. He didn't have the chakra left to transport anyone to his apartment.

He wasn't sure he had the energy left to even stand now that he was on the ground.


	25. Chapter 25

_okay, gentle readers and o my best beloveds - one more chapter after this and then an epilogue and we'll have reached the end of our adventure. Or at least _this_ adventure ;) **tennisdesi91** - here you go, next chapter. You knew it was coming though ;) and hopefully I can pull the tension through into this chapter and give it a solid punch too! **mc **- we are down to the wire and so is Minato. You're right, this is his make or break chapter. And yes, you're on the right wavelength. This story is as much about Minato's joining himself to people in the outside world as it is anything else. It's about him finally letting himself establish relationships and deeper emotions for people around him and becoming 'human' enough to interact on that level with the rest of the world outside himself. And it's about trusting them enough to draw his strength from them as well, trusting that they will be enough, that they won't leave him when he needs them most. It's a big step for him even if he was eased into it unsuspecting. So you're right - this climax is about Minato not being alone in his battles anymore. Even if he is, in the end, the only one capable of finishing things. **mystic 777** - good to hear from you again :D and, heh, that was a well timed sound track - lol. As for Umino... well, I've always thought that family had to be pretty laid back about surprising things. He's a smart guy and he's Minato's friend. I suspect he's probably got a pretty good notion of what he's been given to take care of. Observant friends - the blessing and curse of our lives, right? **awkwardlyawesome** - your wish is my command - at least in this case ;) here's our fox's fate - kinda. And, good, I love team Minato. They're way too cute. As for their fate - I am writing this as close to canon as I can but... I won't write that far so if the readers want to give them a different fate, I certainly won't be writing anything to prove them wrong. Knowing the ending does make the reading/writing bittersweet. I think it's okay though. Life is bittersweet and that's what makes the good moments so very precious and the bad moments somehow bearable. **bylaternlight** - LOL - your NPZN made me laugh so hard! That's perfect! Yes, the story has an end - but I wouldn't have started it if it didn't. Even if I didn't know what the end would be when I started. I promised my readers if they gave me enough faith to read, I wouldn't leave them hanging. I meant it. And now here we are and I can only pray that all that wonderful faith and time and emotion that everyone has invested into this story is rewarded. God, I hope I've done well with this chapter. It's the one I agonized the most over because it has to deserve what everyone's trusted me for. ** aledeth** - I LOVED your review! It made me laugh so hard I think even Minato got a chuckle out of it. 'Stone-cold' indeed :D Yeah, there's not much that phases Minato - he's too busy figuring out how to deal with an issue to stop long enough to get shocked or horrified or thrown. I think it's part of his charm. ;) Either that or he's just really, really good at repression - lol. **crazylikeanko** - lol - I didn't even put two and two together with the hospital and zombies until you mentioned it. That's great! Yes, the undead are mobile and Minato and kids are right in the middle. Cliff hanger resolve coming up - in more ways than just one ;) **velo** - oh, you are so precious to me. I reworked the chapter on your advice and dag nab but I hope it works better now. I think it works better at least. I'm much more satisfied with it and that's entirely thanks to you. And yeah... I do have a weakness for suspense - lol. But you love me anyway. Right? I will admit, when I started writing this I had no intention for any of this. The story was supposed to end with the face off with the grandfather. But - things kept writing themselves into the story and the next thing I knew instead of one climax I had two! It was a bit nerve wrecking, realizing I wasn't done when I thought I was going to be done and I still had more to go. Well, here we go - again for you ;) **writing bunny** - heh, ;) I'll actually wrap most of this up in just one chapter. At least the action parts. Explanations will come next chapter. I figure my readers might come hunt me down with flaming torches and pitchforks though if I don't give everyone a break from the tension though. Minato was certainly in the fox den longer than he thought. Your guess if probably right about the time span. And, well, Kakashi doesn't have to chose between a team and a mission in this. Let's him be a little bit more of a little boy - that and the fact he's five years younger and not feeling the weight of a recent rank promotion. I think he and Minato connect on a lot of levels and I think they're both quiet about it. I think it's good for them though ;) At least it's not a 'first impression? yep, I hate you guys' right? lol **BTB** - welcome to the party! heh, yeah, that was cruel - but I'll make up for it by not making you wait more than a week to find out what happens next! That's got to count for something, right? and - good questions all! Hopefully I answer at least most of them here. Though - your guess about 'first moves' - yeah, you're not wrong with that. ;) **bukkakenojutsu** - good :D I'm glad and I'm glad you're still here. Hopefully this chapter will make up for the wait. **hadar** - nope. Would never do that to you. Every Sunday. I promised and that's my writer's way ;) It's the only way I can justify my love of cliff hangers - lol. And - here's your answer. Hope it's worth the wait. **dellende** - lol - tell me about it! I thought the story was supposed to be done about two chapters ago - but noooo. Minato and company just wanted to keep going and who was I to tell them no? And, I do tie the answer to your suspicion in, just a little. But that's next chapter. This one - heh, I hope this one is a good read. I worked hard at it. special thanks to** jini **who gave me the courage to start this wild ride and to **velo **who's given me the courage to finish it. You two rock! So... are we ready, peeps?_

Chapter 25:

Behind him the door was starting to splinter and the children had already managed to push over one of the shelving cases against it to hold it closed. The creatures outside would be inside soon. Minato opened his eyes, still concentrating on keeping his breathing even when all he really wanted to do was pant raggedly.

Pushing up, back against the wall to hid how much it cost him or how much his muscles shook, he offered an open hand and his student gathered around him immediately, huddling close. The press of their bodies was comforting to him and he drew strength from it. He wasn't supposed to die here. He had a horrible unknown sin to commit against an unborn child he hadn't even given life to yet.

But sometimes Fate ran wrong.

"All right," he kept his voice calm and low but it still carried over the sounds of the breaking door. "When the door is gone, I will go through first. You three have one mission only. You are to escape. Nothing else. You leave me, and what is in here, and you get out of here." He met each of their eyes in turn. "That's an order from your commander. Disobeying me is not an option. You cannot join me in what I do here."

Kakashi's eyes were broken. The boy knew then. Rin and Obito just looked worried and scared. He rested a hand on each of their heads in turn and then looked back at his silver haired boy. He would have liked more time with them. He hoped no superstition stuck to them about losing teachers. "Make Jiraiya teach you. Make him. Kakashi, you are in charge of the team now. It is your responsibility to see that everyone gets out of here safely."

He paused and the boy nodded. Minato nodded back.

"Good. I am proud of each of you. Now get ready."

He had already given them the few small scrolls he still had on him, all but two, and so he drew his kunai again. He was running out of those too. They tended to lodge in bone and stick. The door splinted again and straining hands pushed through the opening, forcing the hole larger. The dead would have been able to come through at this point if they'd let just one through at a time. But the creatures they had become were mindless and there was no thought to their struggle to reach the living inside the room. Soon enough that wouldn't matter though. Minato moved in front of his children and focused some of the last of his chakra, fingers moving to form the symbols that summoned a wind rush. Halfway through the rapid motions, the hands and arms started to withdraw. Suspicious, Minato paused. A trap? But – they hadn't had the intelligence for that kind of thing previously. Or – perhaps something worse was coming and they were getting out of the way? His eyes narrowed to slits and he drew in a breath in preparation, fingers still holding the last sign they'd been in the process of forming, the jutsu half finished and unreleased.

There was a scrambling, scraping sound in the hallway beyond. Bodies thumping into each other and moving forward. The sounds were slow at first but they increased and Minato could see the ragged forms beyond the gaps in the door as they began their manic rush forward.

Down the hall.

Away from him and the children.

It didn't make sense and, still suspecting a trap, he shifted his way forward. If they were gone, he needed to get the children out immediately – but moving too fast was a good way to get them killed. He caught movement at the splintered edge of the door –

And saw gold eyes peering through the broken wood at him.

His heart turned over in his chest at the sight and he hoped he was dead. Because then – it would be real.

"I knew you were many people's favorite, Yondaime," his little fox said, voice surprisingly thin and wispy. "I didn't think it was this many."

"Little fox," it burst out of him without a thought on his part and he was over to wrench the broken wood out of the way. Needing to see her – because he shouldn't. She wasn't, couldn't, be here.

She almost fell through the door when its questionable support disappeared and he caught her in his arms even as he maneuvered through what was left of it. She was small and thin and frail against him. But her chest rose and fell and her eyes were watching him with something close to tenacious determination. She smiled though – and, tired and thin and worn as it was, it was entirely hers.

"Fox," his voice was a chiding murmur and as weak as he felt himself, the last of his energy spent on the door, he still managed to lift a hand to stroke it over her dull hair.

"How did you get here?"

The look she gave him was soft and sad and she did not blink as she watched him. As if she was afraid one of them might fade away. He knew the fear.

"You are mine, Yondaime. That is the pact. Remember? There is nowhere you can hide or be hidden, nowhere you can go, that I cannot follow. Nothing can keep me from coming for you." Her gold eyes were ancient. "Nothing."

"You shouldn't be here." The children were emerging through the ruined door behind him and he knew that they were talking too freely in front of listening ears. Somehow… it didn't seem to matter at the moment.

"You needed me." She whispered it as if it was all the answer in the world and he supposed it was. There was no pride in him to get in the way as he acquiesced.

"I need you," he agreed. She gave him a smile and then turned to her head to Rin.

"Little raccoon, you must heal your sensei now. Then we will leave."

"I can't – " Rin's voice was very small and she sounded as if she had tears in her eyes. She looked at Minato as he barely stood in front of her. "I used up all my chakra keeping the bad jutsu from turning me."

The fox lifted a slender hand so pale Minato could almost see the bone through it and gently, tenderly, she brushed the hair back from Rin's round face. Her voice was like dry paper as she asked:

"Are you still standing, little one?" At Rin's nod, she said: "Then you have chakra left. Drain yourself and use it. You are with us now and it is our job to keep you safe. You don't need it for yourself anymore."

Rin's eyes went huge and she looked panicked. Obito shifted defensively forward but Kakashi caught his arm. The fox watched patiently. Rin tore her eyes from that gold and looked at her teammates before turning her head to meet Minato's eyes. Minato looked calmly back at her and neither asked nor absolved.

The truth was that he was barely standing and in no condition to go after what had done this to his village. The sensible thing to do was to retreat with the children and his fox and save this battle for another day. Except he wasn't going to. He was going to kill a monster, and he was going to do it now. Today. Even if it killed him in the process.

With or without his student's help. The choice was hers entirely.

Rich brown eyes softened and the fear melted out of them. With a shy smile, she stepped forward and her hands found the sleeve of his shirt.

"Can I – will you let me help you, sensei?"

His fox shifted away from him then and, though she swayed, she stayed upright. He didn't want to let her go. He didn't want to drain his student. This wasn't about what he wanted though. It was about what needed to be done. Careful, he went to his knees and it could as easily have been from Rin's willingness to sacrifice herself as at the weakness thrumming through his body. Holding out his arms, he let her come close and snuggle in against his chest and for just a moment, it wasn't about healing or even a student. It was a little girl, a little girl he could think of as his own and one that he was so proud of it made his heart hurt.

"I would be grateful for your help, Rin," he murmured into her hair and behind them, he heard his fox say:

"That is his way of saying he loves you."

In his arms Rin giggled… and then he felt the surprisingly gentle warmth of her healing chakra. It slipped in passed his defenses like a little child sneaking into a parent's bed in response to nightmares and he shut his eyes and let it flow, warm and green and full of life and love through his veins. Still learning, the energy was raw but his body absorbed it desperately all the same, feeding it to the dying flicker of his own life's chakra. He felt her surprise, and then her horror, at how he had been keeping himself alive, and at how faint it had grown. And then he felt the surge of her power as she poured everything she had into him.

Her body went limp in his arms but the chakra continued to flow and finally he was the one that cut it off. In his arms, Rin was pale – but her breathing was steady and even and her body was relaxed and warm. He helped settle her against Obito's back and then he straightened. His levels were nowhere near the usual, but it was enough. His student's gift was enough and he would not fail her trust in him. This time, he would make sure this nightmare ended for good. He looked at his little fox and the smile she gave him was real and weak. He wondered what she was using to stay upright. So he didn't draw her into his arms and take that away from her, but he did reach out and cup her cheek tenderly.

"Where are the bodies?"

Her lips twitched again.

"Chasing one of my shadow forms. My – " her eyes slipped sideways to the children and then came back to his. Laughter was in that gold depth despite the dull color of them. "My jutsu let's me attract them."

Her fox seduction in other words. Having felt it himself, he could believe that it was powerful enough to attract even the dead. It meant she was burning through chakra he was fairly sure she couldn't afford to spare though. He brushed her lips with his.

"Go." He turned to the children. "Get out whatever way is fastest. Stay near the edge of the barrier, where the others can see you and keep an eye on you. Do whatever it takes to survive." His eyes met Kakashi's. "I will be back." And when he said it, it was with a determination to not lose what he had only so recently gained into his life. The silver haired boy nodded and his slim shoulders relaxed. Just a little. Minato smiled. Then he turned and barely, just barely, let his own chakra spread outward. The place reeked of unnatural magic… and a single clear thread of it led deeper into the complex.

A spider at the center of its web.

It was time to end that. Calling up the proper technique even as his students and fox fled, he shifted gravity for himself and used the roof as his floor. The dead would not chase his fox forever and he couldn't expect that all of them had. He didn't have the time or the energy to waste in fighting distractions. He wanted the root of this nightmare and he didn't want to give it the chance to know he was coming and escape.

The hospital looked different upside down and his footsteps made no sound in the clinging darkness. He passed through rooms and found dead bodies, like cast aside dolls, lying where they had fallen on the floor below him. Not all of them looked rotted. Some of them looked torn apart and he remembered that Rin wasn't the only healer with chakra skills. Apparently, the dead hadn't cared as they'd turned on the few survivors. Most of the bodies were already starting to rot though and he could only guess that whatever jutsu stole their lives burned through the bodies it animated afterward at rapid speeds.

The question was, how had jutsu of that sort gotten into the hospital in the first place? Serving the shinobi it did, the hospital of Konoha was warded against most jutsu.

Except his.

And his fox's.

Both of which relied on markers to draw them.

Had there been a marker planted here in secret, waiting for the jutsu to be activated?

His fox had said that one of the bats from their previous battle had smelled differently than the others. Had that bat been the jutsu's marker, as he was for his little fox? It made sense but it wasn't vital to the situation to understand it now. He didn't intend for his prey to escape to make such a marker a danger again.

His path took him into the very center of the building, where the operating rooms were. It made sense, to base yourself out of sealed off rooms that were easy to defend. The dead milled about below him in the hallways as he drew closer to his target but he was careful not to directly touch the chakra threads that linked them to their maker and alert the creature to his coming.

Again, Minato was grateful that the hollowed shinobi below him didn't seem to retain their skills from life. He knew he was not the only one that could sense chakra. Nor was he the only one that would have thought to check the ceiling from time to time.

The rolling sick feeling of abused chakra intensified to the point that Minato had to shut down his own web or risk being choked by the feel of it. He didn't need his inner senses anymore anyway. He could smell his prey now and the bodies under him were all still and unmoving. Waiting for him to stroll down the hallway perhaps? The thought made one edge of his mouth shift.

"You have to come get me!"

The voice made him pause and he sunk down to rest almost prone against the ceiling in front of an open doorway. The voice… the voice that had come from the room was young. There was a murmur, a rustle of wind answer, that Minato couldn't hear but the young voice rose, just a little, in response.

"He's here. I felt him when he fought my friends. He's the same one that almost killed me last time. You need – no! I can't. There's a barrier around the place. I can't get out. You need to – no! Don't! Don't leave me! I'm useful, remember? You promised I could join Akatsuki if I did this for you! You said - !"

To Minato, waiting outside, the murmuring wind sounded dismissive. The bodies in the hallway swayed in time with the desperate voice inside.

"I'm useful. I am. I can do more! Let me show you! I will – I – "

Crouching low, Minato looked into the room from his vantage point. The lighting was eerie in that room, sickly yellow-white and night worm blue and it glowed like swamp rot from a single moving point in the darkness. Bodies littered the floor, still struggling to move even though they were so rotted there was little left for them to move with. In the middle of it all he saw a robed figure, the source of that sickly light – and for half a moment, he thought he saw someone else in the writhing shadows as well. But then there was nothing and the robed figure was screaming out in a rage that indicated it too, saw nothing.

"No! No, you can't do this to me! You need me! I'll kill you if you leave me!"

"Don't worry." Minato said it as he dropped to the ground inside the room. As he straightened, he added: "You'll be leaving soon enough."

Robes swirled and spun, the figure surprisingly small to hold so much dark jutsu and it screamed at him. The sound was high and hate-filled and raw. The ground under Minato explored upward.

He'd been expected it though. This was three times now he'd almost had this creature under his kunai and each time, at the very end, guardians of rot and body, bone and wood, always stood in the way. The first time he'd been foolish enough to think they were the actual enemy. He wasn't interested in making that mistake this time. He spun wide to avoid them –

And felt his body freeze.

The jutsu! That damned death jutsu he'd been ignoring as it tried to worm it's way through his defenses. It had gotten so weak he'd forgotten about it. A stupid mistake and now, unsuspecting, it caught and froze him in place, its hold on his body insidious. The golems of rot and wood and bone crashed down on him.

In that second, with a snarl, Minato's eyes narrowed into blue electric and he forced his own will through his veins. It burned like fire. He would not be defeated; he would not fail. He would not end like this.

His hand flickered, shot upward, tendons on the back of it standing out in relief as he ducked low. It felt as if his muscles were tearing away from his bones but his fingers touched wood –

His mark caught.

And as the giant fists fell, he slipped between moments. Tile floor shattered under the unhindered attack and Minato, no longer there, was on the first golem's back instead. He forced a chakra flare and it sang through his veins, his body, burning like pure fire. It brought the edge to the smile that touched his lips and he thrust downward, a scroll so small it could have hidden in the palm of his hand in his fingers. The power of his chakra fueled punch broke through the rotting wood and bone and the scroll slipped loose.

Minato was already jumping clear and onto the other golem's back as the scroll ignited.

He'd watched. He'd learned from the first time he'd run into these defenses. These constructs were malleable and they shifted, swallowing regular fire attacks with their own bodies and smothering them deep inside. Minato had added his own twist to these fire scrolls though, preparing for a moment like this. It wasn't normal flame that sprang upward. It burned white hot and refused to be smothered even as the amalgams of bone and wood, flesh and muck, tried to shift and swallow the fire to douse it. White flames licked up from cracks and holes in the rotting golems, eating them from the inside outward and Minato's quiet smile was cold and pleased as he left their flailing forms to hone in on his target.

Again the robed figure screamed and Minato heard the scrambling in the doorway as the dead tried to pour into the room. The ruined creatures on the floor flailed madly, answering that scream as well. He felt the death jutsu trying to overtake him again, cold, black snakes through his blood. But he was too close and it was too late. Even without his jutsu, he'd always been fast.

His first blow caught the robed figure in the chest and the force of it sent the creature flying. Minato was there for it before it landed and his next blow drove it downward hard enough to crack the floor when it hit. He followed it down, heel driving into it and felt bone snap under him. You didn't slow down, you didn't take risks and you certainly didn't pause or let up when you were fighting someone that might be able to use jutsu. Minato had long ago learned to kill without hesitation or remorse. He felt none now as the figure under him cried out in agony and writhed under the knee he pined it down with. Kunai in hand, he caught a fistful of the cloak in his other and jerked the body into a killing position.

The hood fell back as he did.

He found himself staring at the painted face of a child.

A child with tears of pain in his mad, mad eyes of hatred.

"You hurt me!" it wailed at him and he saw it had no hair and that the side of its face was ruined in something that must have happened long ago. "You've hurt me and I'll feed you to the Shinigami for it!"

Minato drove his blade straight down through the deformed skull and put an end to whatever it was that had fed so long on the lives of others.


	26. Chapter 26

_one more Sunday for us after this one, gentle readers and o best beloveds. What a wild ride it's been. I've enjoyed every minute of it, doubly so because of all of you. Time to start wrapping things up now ;) **watashiwa-nanashi** - heh, I'm thrilled that last chapter went over well. I was seriously sweating bullets over whether it was good enough or not. The kid's powers were mostly just so I could foreshadow mercilessly though ;) so it was pretty much his own invention kind of thing. Couldn't resist Minato and the almost shinigami. **mystic777 **- lol - glad it all seemed to fit. I tried to tie little bits and pieces of the future manga into what I was writing now. I figure people that weren't that familiar wouldn't notice and ones that were would enjoy the little extras. And yes, I couldn't leave our heroes hanging like that anymore. It was time for some rescue. **tennisdesi91** - good, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I worked hard on that chapter. Wanted it to really deliver what everyone deserved. **writing bunny** - I remember one of my writing teachers saying you should always leave three mild mysteries when you end your story. Not enough to bother or annoy the readers but enough that the sharp ones will be left thinking - lol. I don't know if that's true or not but I like doing so in my longer works. As for the deformed child - a little bit more on him in this chapter. :) **mc **- yeah, it has been a ride, hasn't it? I too have enjoyed 'meeting' so many new people and being allowed to play in this world. the internet makes the world small enough to do so and I'm grateful for that. Minato - he's special. He's one of those rare individuals that comes out on top simply because he doesn't know how to do anything else - and yet he does so without bragging or even real acknowledgment of how rare that is. And - it had to be a child. I don't know why but for the horror to fit, it had to be a child. In the original manga, Minato's someone that terrifies the other countries but it never really gets explored why. that he's fast and amazing at killing yes, but that's not reason enough for the terror. I think, for me at least, the terror is that he has no qualms, no hesitation, no remorse or guilt when he does what he feels needs to be done. Even if it's dirty and ugly and makes him scary. Yet, I didn't want the readers to find him repulsive. I think I pulled it off but yes, he was an interesting one to write. I'm glad he came over well. **light86** - aww, welcome to the party! and wow - that's a wonderful compliment! thank you. I really do try to make my stories everything that the readers deserve for coming along with me on this ride. If it's been worth it for you then I'm doing something right :D **bylaternlight** - a 5 out of 5, eh? wow, that's awesome! Because I was horribly nervous about that last chapter. It was the single chapter that HAD to deliver. The others build or sooth or add but that one had to be the punch that made it all worth it. that you approve - that's a wonderful pat on the back for me because I always worry about 'Pow!' chapters the most. **velo** - my much loved and adored test reader! I'm glad you liked the changes. I really did try to take what you'd suggested to heart and improve so that it was satisfying. I couldn't have managed without your opinion. I suppose in a strange way, you and I are both waiting for that epilogue to get posted. Because I too really can't wait to see what everyone thinks of that final piece to the puzzle. We'll party together when it's done :D as always - special thanks to **jini** for getting me started and **velo** for helping me finish. One more Sunday after this. Let's see if we can't finish with style ;)_

Chapter 26:

Minato stood silent and looked down at the small body laid out on the table in front of him. Two days ago, he'd finally faced an enemy of corruption in the hospital and brought it to an end. Now, in the dim light, the skin was pale and sunken, so that the bones showed through as fragile pressure. Across the hips, a cloth had been draped for modesty – but it was still a child's body. Or rather, two children. The scarring on the side of the face, he'd been informed, was where the main mass of the unborn twin had been cut away but there were still marks of the second child in the deformed backbone, the double foot –

The single bony finger that pointed outward from the center of the chest.

Shinigami. The child had claimed to be able to summon the Death god and the finger protruding from his sunken chest had been painted with dark symbols to represent that embodiment. Around the finger, more symbols had been painted, a crude seal of sorts to contain the power of the Shinigami and keep it from swallowing the soul of the boy whole. The finger was not the beginning thrust of Shinigami's hand though and as dark and unnatural as the boy's jutsu had been, it was his own creation.

Somehow, Minato found he had even less pity for the child because of it. What he had done had been pulled from the depths of his own soul and that kind of evil was too twisted and perverse to deserve pity. He could, however, feel relief. The child had not been Shinigami pacted. His soul, when it had been released, went where all souls went to be measured.

No one deserved the fate of being in the Death god's stomach for all eternity.

"We finally managed to track down his village." Next to him the Hokage was also looking down at the teen's body. "Apparently, in the womb, his body absorbed his twin's. The villagers blamed him for it, saying he'd swallowed his brother's soul. His mother did what she could to shield him but eventually he was driven out."

"Probably for practicing his jutsu," Orochimaru looked over from where he was standing next to his table of instruments. Minato was careful not to look too closely at what lay there. It brought back too many memories. "The boy was probably stupid enough to get caught at it before he'd perfected the technique."

No one in the village knew more about death than Orochimaru. He'd made it his study. Minato knew it was a useful knowledge to have. He tried not to judge that the other man seemed so happy whenever he was called upon for that talent.

"His body is no danger to the village anymore?" The Hokage asked it, choosing to ignore further speculation and Orochimaru nodded, eyes back on the body on the table.

"It would take a power greater than his to heal a hole in his head."

Minato met his glance calmly when the other man looked at him. He was neither proud nor apologetic. His job had been to kill. He'd done so. Young boy or not, what the body had housed had wanted to destroy Konoha. Now – it wasn't a threat anymore. Orochimaru moved back to the table, thin scalpel in his pale hand.

"Do you enjoy it?" he asked Minato and the blond turned his head to follow his movements. "The kill? Does it make you feel alive or vindicated or powerful?"

The question was out of line. Minato made a noise in his throat. In the dim, windowless room, death hanging heavy, he answered anyway:

"It was an enemy. I simply feel tired."

Tired physically or just tired of killing, he didn't elaborate. It was none of the other man's business.

"The village doesn't want the body back," the Hokage was interested in dealing with the practical. "Orochimaru, dispose of the body."

"Yes," the pale man all but hissed it and the Hokage's eyes suddenly lifted. Minato saw fire in them.

"Immediately. Completely. Without any tests on it before hand."

For a moment, Minato watched as the pale man's eyes slit and spit a green fire of their own. The Hokage didn't look away. Orochimaru did first and the hand holding the scalpel sank.

"Yes, sensei," the pale man replied.

"Good," the Hokage turned for the door and his hand on Minato's arm steered him to come as well. "Tell me when it's done."

The sunlight outside seemed vaguely inappropriate, watery and bright in the winter sky and Minato slipped his hands into his pockets and tipped his face upward to feel it against his skin. Next to him the Hokage did the same for a moment and then he started walking. His look told Minato to join him and so he fell into step next to the older man. For a long time, there was only silence between them as they traced the streets of the village toward the center of town. When he finally spoke, the Hokage's voice was thoughtful.

"You love this village, Namikaze?"

"I do." Minato answered it easily. The other man already knew he did. Next to him the Hokage grunted and they were silent for a little while longer. Finally, the older man said:

"You have a very clever kunoichi on your side."

It made the edges of Minato's lips shift upward at the mention of a certain red haired woman and his heart eased a bit for the first time since he'd walked into that room with the boy's dead body in it.

"I do," he agreed.

"Tsunade's investigation has confirmed what the Whirlpool already reported. The boy did use a living being as the marker for his jutsu. He used Kurosawa. Apparently he planted the jutsu in the man before the farmers ever even found him to bring him to us." The Hokage looked off into the distance. "I'd feel bad for your kunoichi, losing the last of her village in such a horrible way…" His old eyes slid to Minato and Minato simply nodded and made a humming noise.

"How is she doing?" the Hokage asked when Minato didn't give any other response and Minato exhaled.

"Still recovering. But – better. She tried to make breakfast this morning."

"You say that with an interesting inflection, Namikaze," the older man observed and Minato was surprised to find himself chuckling. He rubbed at the back of his ear.

"I still haven't found all of the broken eggs," he admitted.

"No one's asked you what you two fought to leave you so drained before you came back to Konoha?"

Minato looked at the older man next to him and moved a shoulder.

"Not many people know what condition we were in when we arrived. Most just assume we ended up that way because of what happened in the hospital."

Clear eyes watched him closely.

"So – did you win your forgotten battle, Namikaze Minato?"

Minato met those eyes with his. There was so much he would never answer. He was grateful and awed to have a Hokage that trusted him not to.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I won."

The older man made a thoughtful noise and turned his attention back on the road in front of them, nodding his head vaguely. Minato thought… he thought the other man might have looked pleased. Just a little.

"There are still rumors of restlessness in some of the far lands," the Hokage stated calmly and Minato nodded.

"There will be an interesting future ahead for Konoha," he agreed.

"Konoha needs a strong leader if it is to suffer trials ahead."

Minato turned his head to look at the man next to him but the Hokage was gazing thoughtfully at the clouds in the sky. Minato made a softly agreeing noise and the Hokage nodded.

"Someone young. Someone that loves Konoha more than anything else. Someone that will inspire confidence when he leads them." He paused. "Someone our enemies already fear."

It was Minato's turn to look down at his feet and nod without comment. The Hokage looked over at him and then back at the sky.

"You're a bright young man, Namikaze. Have you ever thought of expanding your knowledge beyond ANBU training?"

It was asked so casually, so calmly, that somehow it sounded almost random despite the conversation that had led up to it. Minato's brows came down. His fox had said his village would have a choice.

He would have a choice.

And his choice was, and always would be, to serve.

He raised his head and looked into the eyes of the man next to him.

"I am willing to learn, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage grunted and then left him there, outside of the Hokage's offices but Minato thought there might be a smile on the older man's lips. Minato looked up at the building and for a long time his mind refused to speculate. Finally he turned away and saw that his own teacher had found him.

"Sensei!" He didn't try to disguise the pleasure at seeing his teacher and Jiraiya grinned in response. Minato knew him too well however to not notice the hidden sorrow in the other man's eyes. Jiraiya spoke before Minato could mention it however and so he knew that now wasn't the time to ask. Not when he already knew, or could guess, both where his sensei had been, and what gave his eyes their sorrow. Before he had trained Minato's team, Jiraiya had held another three children close to his heart and tried to teach them the shinobi way.

"Minato! Gamabunta told me you needed me. I told him the earth would sink into the sea the day the great Namikaze Minato needed an old man's help."

It drew out a quiet smile from Minato. He knew his sensei was both showing his faith in him – and apologizing in a round about way. The great toad had managed to track down Jiraiya but by the time Jiraiya had returned with Gamabunta, still the first of the Sannin to be found and retrieved, Minato had already done what needed to be done. Jiraiya had been left to deal with the messy job of dead shinobi neighbors already rotting in the halls of the hospital and family members desperate to find out what had happened to them in the short space of an afternoon. By that point, Minato had already been confined to his apartment bed and, since he's had his little fox sleeping next to him, and Aki in the other room to play the part of terrifying watch dog and make sure he didn't try to leave, he'd been content to stay that way. In the few days since, he hadn't had time to really sit down and reunite with his teacher.

Not even Jiraiya dared attempt Aki's wrath by breaking her 'no visitors' rule. Takagi had barely gotten away with it and the man was married to her.

Jiraiya slung an arm around Minato's shoulders and started moving, forcing the younger man to walk with him. Minato's lips curved upward softly and he let it happen. When he spoke again, Jiraiya's voice was surprisingly serious.

"That was a messy business, Minato. It could have been worse than it was – and it was bad enough." The arm around Minato's shoulders tightened fractionally. "You sure you're okay, kid?"

Minato's smile came again, along with a quiet exhale and he made a humming noise.

"I'm better, sensei."

"And that beauty of yours?"

Minato's blue eyes flickered sideways to glance up at his teacher from their corners and the taller man grinned back at him.

"She's off limits. I know that. But you're wrapped all around her little finger – so I have to ask."

Minato choked a sound that might have been laughter and finally twisted out from under the arm so that he could stand straight. His steps kept him next to his teacher though.

"She's getting better too. Umino's wife is trying to convince her there are other things to eat besides ramen."

Jiraiya smiled but the tension around the edges of his eyes relaxed a little as well.

"Good to hear."

"Sensei," Minato brought up a subject he'd been working over in his mind. "What about these Akatsuki? I'd heard they were mercenaries. This was – beyond that."

Jiraiya shook his head. Minato had already mentioned what he'd overheard in his report to the Hokage. Jiraiya had been present for that and so Minato had no difficulty speaking with the older man about the subject. Until now, Minato had only heard passing, vague references to a mercenary organization by that name – and if it weren't for his sharp memory, he wouldn't have remembered the name at all. Before.

He would certainly be remembering the name now. The same way he made it a point to remember every name that could become a threat to Konoha.

"Rumors, Minato," Jiraiya's eyes were narrowed as he looked ahead of him. "I only hear rumors. S-class missing nin. Criminal activities. Thugs for hire. Hard to find and almost impossible to track." His teacher looked over at him. "I'm sure we'll know more soon though."

Minato made a humming noise in agreement and didn't doubt they would. Konoha had been threatened. He wasn't the only one that took that threat seriously.

Some days… it seemed as if all the troubles in the world were starting to very slowly dance around the edges of Konoha…

Shifting, Jiraiya jostled Minato's shoulder with his own, knocking the younger man off his stride a little. Minato's lips shifted upward in automatic response and he gave his teacher a long-suffering look. Jiraiya bellowed a laugh and the sound caused Minato's own smile to spread.

"I hear you figured out how to make that new jutsu technique of yours work. You going to share the secret with your teacher?"

Minato looked up at the sky and made a noise.

"I don't know, sensei. It's no good to you. It's too big to bore secretive peek-holes in bath house walls."

"You little – " Jiraiya was laughing and was reaching to rub knuckles over his head when a body suddenly impacted with Minato's and sent him sprawling. Lying on his back, he looked up.

Red hair fell around him like a waterfall and in that ruby depth eyes of burnished gold looked down at him. A smile that was smug and pleased and foxy curved lips underneath those luminous eyes and the cheeks that had filled out and regained their color in the passing days lifted as she smiled. He exhaled.

"Little fox," he murmured the sound and, crouched over him on her hands and knees, she leaned down to nip lightly at his nose before her lips settled over his. In the middle of the street, surrounded by people, Minato reached up to wrap his arms around her and pull her body down on top of his in response. She was still too bony, his hands felt it as they ran over her ribs and back, but she was alive. And she was with him.

With a gasp, she pulled up for air and somehow managed to wiggle her way out of his embrace to scramble to her feet. He noticed, belatedly, that his students were with her as well as several of the village children. Her hand stretched down for his.

"Quickly," she tugged at him as he took his time standing. "I am escaping. Aki was going to make me stay in bed but your students came and rescued me."

He looked at his students. Rin and Obito were smothering giggles. Kakashi looked vaguely put out – and alert and ready to run. Somewhere far down the street, Minato heard a woman's voice raised in a hunting yell. He was on his feet in an instant.

"Sensei," he excused himself and left Jiraiya laughing – and making also himself scarce before Aki could arrive. His little fox's hand caught in the safety of his own, Minato, surrounded by children, with the woman he loved by his side, darted down a side street, trailing laughter behind them.


	27. Epilogue

_ahhh, my gentle readers and o my best beloveds... here we are. Final page of this journey that's been such a wonderful ride. I loved writing this but it wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable without all of you. Getting reviews every week full of insight and thought and depth? - it was pure gold to my little writer's soul. I can't tell you how much I looked forward to the notices in my email box each week. And here we finally are - the ending of this story and the starting of another written by someone else's hand. Thank you for coming with me on this journey. I will miss seeing familiar names popping up in my inbox. **tennisdesi91** - you've been around since almost the beginning and wonderfully consistent. I'm glad you liked the last chapter - I thought we all needed a sweetness to swallow down all the action of the previous chapters - lol. I think I've taken Minato and the fox as far as I'm going to but I know their story isn't finished by any means just because I've finished writing for them. I like to think that they carry on without me much the same way they did when I was there ;) **mystic 777** - I'm glad the creepiness worked. He's a character I don't have much of a handle on and he's not quite what he one day will be. Yes, I will be ending this canon - see below. But... I hope that the ending is better than you hoped and not as sad as it would seem. I don't write tragedies. Tell me how I do and if I absolve myself in your eyes for following the manga ;) I think you'll be happy. **writing bunny** - heh, yes, foreshadowing is one of my favorite things to do - though I always double back and find myself asking 'too obvious?' 'not obvious enough?' lol. But there was just too much to not use it. And I'm glad - I thought that the last chapter should end on the two men who believe most in Minato. he's stepping into his future in the last chapter and in this one he's fulfilling it. And I'll admit, I'm a little sad to see the story end too. It's taken up a solid bit of my life for a while and I'll find it odd when it's gone and I'm not rushing to make sure everything perfect for posting on Saturday nights anymore ;) ** crazylikeanko** - here you are - one last hurrah for us both. I've always so enjoyed getting your reviews, they never fail to make me smile and I'm going to miss that. I hope that this chapter is everything worth while to wrap up this wild ride we've been on together and I hope it leaves you satisfied at the end. Next Sunday is going to be weird for me, having nothing left to post. **BTB** - tell your wife I agreed with her and thought it needed an epilogue ;) Akatsuki was mentioned when the little monster (so appropriately called) was having his conversation just before Minato arrived. Apparently he'd been promised a place in it's membership if he brought down Konoha. Or at least that's what he was lead to believe. I thought it was appropriate to let the whispers of the future start flowing a little bit more in these last few chapters. It's been odd writing a story that already has the ending known to all my readers as well as myself - bittersweet - challenging - and surprisingly enjoyable. All stories must come to an end though - or at least the pause where the writer steps back and lets it go on without them and we're there now. I don't believe stories ever really end though - I think they just keep flowing on without us. And I'm okay with that. **bukkakenojutsu** - I'm adhering to canon. You tell me if it's a tragedy or not. Because I got all choked up writing it - but I found myself smiling at the end ;) I'd be curious to hear what you think. **mc** - what can I say? You've come all the way on this ride with me with no idea who any of these people were or where we were going. And yet I know you loved them and saw into their hearts just as well. this last bit is heavy on the original story that I swiped the characters from but hopefully not so much so that it's not understandable. At least that's what I shot for. You've caught the point of the story anyway - that Minato needs his little fox to be human and that watching that happen was all worth while. Sometimes good men forget that they're good - that's when they just 'need a little push' ;) (there, that will be our inside joke regarding our ffvii lives ;) Meet you at the punch bowl! **mar888 **- heh, glad you're enjoying. Sadly, this is the last chapter but you showed up just in time for the after party! :D **bylaternlight** - my thanks. That's two 5/5s in a row and I'm going to shoot for 3 with this last bit. I wrestled a bit with how to end last chapter because I needed to wrap things... and yet leave everyone understanding that it was really only the beginning. I'm glad it worked well and I'm glad our snake handler was as creepy and yet subtle as I imagine he must have had to have been during that time. You want more little fox - as you wish ;) oh my beloved **velo** - heh, here we are and I don't know if I would have made it sanely if not for you and if there's applause to come you have to join me on the stage to receive it as well. You've been awesome at both encouraging me, reading the characters so well, and giving me tips on how to fix the things that have made me stumble. I will miss your reviews and I will miss you. You're awesome and don't be surprised if I get another Naruto bug and decide to come tapping at your door again - lol. This last bit is all for you :D **achi magi** - heh, when you get to this point here's my thank you. I'm thrilled you're enjoying the story and hope that these last few pages of it make it all worth while. It's wonderful having readers with you each chapter but there's always something equally wonderful about having someone reading your work without having to pause each week to wait for you to update :D I hope you enjoyed it and I hope to hear from you again to tell me how I did ;) **dellende **- two reviews in one week? oh huzzah! that's nice to get :D You've got Minato's heart down very well and that's a wonderful thing to read. The bite marks from chapter 9 were left over from the children's corpses the villain used to attack Minato when they first ran into each other. I figured start off creepy and show just how dark the person Minato is going up against really is right at the beginning of things. I'm glad the last chapter was the smile and the sigh that I'd hoped to make it. We deserved a break after all we went through with them and they deserved some happy. Now we just have this one last bit to go before we let them go on without us. Special thanks of course and always to **Jini **and **Velo** - my two sanity checkers and the reason this came out at all. Thanks to everyone that's read this and special thanks to everyone that's made themselves a part of it by leaving reviews. I'm going to miss this._

_And so... here we finally are... Ready?_

**Epilogue**

_death is not the end. It is only a small step forward into an infinite journey._

The world was very small.

Somewhere, far outside and beyond, there was death. A great, slavering death with mad, mad red eyes and tails that toppled mountains. Outside, somewhere far beyond, humans were dying in a desperate last attempt to save what they had bound their hearts too – buildings and land and families. Somewhere, outside, the greatest shinobi in all the worlds drew a line in the ground and said 'no further'.

The world was very small.

She lowered her head.

Against her chest, a tiny new life rested. It was warm and soft and had the sweetest smell she'd ever known. It smelled so sweet that tears came to her eyes and then trailed down her cheeks to tickle her awkwardly placed ears.

"I love you."

She whispered it. As she had whispered it to that tiny life since before it had been planted in her. Her throat felt tight and awkward and she still managed to smile. Against her skin, the child stirred and purred and she wondered if he would remember her scent the way she would always remember his. Her fingers moved soothingly down his tiny back, tap tap tap, and she felt the tears threaten again. He was so soft, so small, so warm… so human. She wanted to hold him against her chest forever. She wanted the world to stop. She wanted to live.

But… the world was very small…

Years ago, she had fallen in love with a human. Today, she gave him a son. A son with his hair and his eyes – and his stubborn determination, she was sure. Her fingers found and stroked, lightly tugging, at the barely there wisps of blond hair. So soft… She swallowed and tried to talk – but her voice broke.

He was dying. Out there beyond here – her Yondaime was dying. She could feel it. He was in pain, heart pain because he was finally realizing what he had to do to beat the monster that had already destroyed her entire clan and had now come for his – and he was dying.

She inhaled, sucking in tears and sorrow, and tried again. Because her son deserved to hear it – even if he never remembered.

"Your father loves you. He loves you more than his own soul." She had to whisper it because her voice wouldn't stay steady. "But I have loved you longer." She paused and rested both hands on her kit's back, looking up at the hospital ceiling and blinking until the tears calmed. "I have loved you longer," she told the ceiling, "because I have dreamed you in my dreams all of my life. You are my death, little kit, and I have always known it – and always loved you fiercely."

Out there, beyond here, she felt the first tug on the bond that her lover's pact with her all those years ago had established. Someone else – some_thing_ else – was trying to take what was already hers. Her lips curved at their edges and sharp teeth showed briefly.

No one took what was hers. Not even death itself.

But her time was fading here. In this very small world.

Using what little strength she had left, she lifted the kit above her. He stirred and opened unfocused eyes of blue to squint down at her. No male kitsune was ever born into the world but he killed his mother in the process. Too much power, too different a magic, too much of a fight to keep her body from refusing him as he grew in her. Bestest sister had offered to end him in order to save her…

She had told her 'no'.

She had never been so proud of anything or anyone as she was of her son in this moment.

"They are coming for you. To take you to your destiny. And you will not cry when your father takes you in his arms for the first and last time. He is asking something very hard of you – and very great and your heart will have to be very, very large to hold all he will trust you with."

Tiny arms stretched down to her, fingers the size of nothing reaching and she quickly pulled him close and held him tightly, burying her nose in his smell. Her throat closed again but she swallowed hard. There was more she needed to tell him and little time to do it in. The magic she had laid over them to make people unconsciously avoid them would break when the shinobi came from her lover to take her child. The doctors would come and they would realize she was bleeding out and they would panic. She needed to tell her son her words now – before there was no more time.

The world was very small.

"You will be great. Greater than your father. But you must love just as greatly as he has. You must, above everything, love as he does or else your destiny will destroy you." The tug on her bond was greater. The god of death had accepted her lover's pact – an eternity spent in the Shinigami's stomach battling demons in exchange for the safety of a village. She pressed her lips to her kit's soft hair in fierce desperation and determination. "Remember my words. You must love. You must. It will save you from the monster you will bear inside you. You must love as your father has." She blinked tears. "You must love as I have loved you." For a long moment, the water leaking from her eyes took her ability to speak from her and she could only pressed her lips to her child and hold him.

Her lover would be so upset if he knew she had always known this would come and had never told him so. The thought made her smile weakly even as the shinobi appeared in the room. It was Umino and he was bleeding and dirty and smelled of smoke and despair and death. He was dying, she could smell it on him. But he had come, this one last duty to his Hokage and friend.

Her kit's first taste of the outside world and it came as it should. With the smell of battle on it. Umino's eyes were empty and hopeless as he approached and looked down at her and she knew he could not say the words her lover had sent him to say. She saved him from it, pressing one last kiss to her kit's soft cheek, rubbing her nose against his and her cheek against his. Leaving her scent on him even though she knew it would not last. Then, throat closed over, she lifted the child and offered him, first son of the greatest shinobi in the world, Fourth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Battle bruised hands closed around the soft bundle and the look of despair and sorrow Umino gave her threatened to swallow her whole. She turned her head and closed her eyes and refused to watch him disappear with her child.

The nurse came then, as if sensing the difference in the emptiness of the room and her panicked call brought the doctors. It was already too late though – it had been since she'd first dreamed of a laughing boy with whiskers on his cheeks and sunshine in the sky blue of his eyes and she smiled as they rushed around her, mouthing reassurances she couldn't hear anymore.

The Fourth Hokage's woman was dying and his only son was missing.

The world was very small.

Somewhere, out there, she felt new life flow through the bond between her and her lover, felt the renewal of purpose… and his horrible, horrible despair. He finally realized what his dream had meant. What horror he would visit upon his own son by binding the strongest monster in all the world inside that tiny, trusting body – to save a village and create a hero for the future.

She had never loved him more or been more proud of him. Her Yondaime…

One of the doctors was speaking to her, trying to get her attention – but she had nothing she wanted to tell him. She looked beyond him with glassy eyes and concentrated. Her timing must be perfect. She must not let her soul slip away before or after her lover's. It must be at the same moment – so that she could catch him – and join him in the hell he had agreed to. It was her right. She had told him once before that there was nowhere he would go that she could not find him, that she could not follow. Not even a god of death could stop her if she chose it.

And she did.

She had long, long ago.

The world was very small.

She felt the strength leave her lover and in that instant she let her own soul jump free. It left behind her body and suddenly she was gold and red and four legged and pale skinned and long hair and soft fur and everything and more than she had always been. She saw her son, surrounded by promises and sorrow, a new destiny marked on his stomach. Her heart did not hurt for him anymore. He would be great – and there would be pain – but he would triumph.

"_Kushina…my cousin… do you see him now? The child that will carry your name into the world and make it good again…"_

She saw an empty, ruined clearing where the world's rage had been stopped and defeated.

_"Great Kyuubi… I have done my clan's duty to you, great ancestor and destroyer of my people thrice over. I have found a way to make you mortal and one day, when he is done with you, my son will kill you and free you from your madness…"_

She saw her lover's fallen body, the hair still bright despite the dirt and blood in it, and – turning, her running steps led her there and even as the Shinigami closed his fingers and drew the life out of Konoha's Yondaime, the great Namikaze Minato, she threw herself forward and wrapped herself around that single soul that was hers to own and she went into the darkness with him.

"_He will come…"_ her heart whispered it to her. _"One day… he will come and free you both. Your kit-child Naruto…"_

In the darkness, she smiled and then her head lifted because she heard a voice, puzzled and distant but growing closer. It said:

"Little fox?"

- and suddenly, again, the world was very, very small. Just the size of one man's arms.


End file.
